Unfold
by BossWooper
Summary: A retelling/reimagination of Spyro the Dragon When the gnorcs unexpectedly take over the dragon realms, one young dragon finds himself in the middle of a war-torn land, separated from his family and friends. Alongside his dragonfly guardian Sparx, Spyro throws himself into the feud in an attempt to reclaim his homelands and rescue his family.
1. Prelude: Consequence

I can't believe how long this has been underway - The idea blossomed shortly after I got my hands on the reignited trilogy, and work has been in progress for... longer than I'd like to admit.

Now, to clarify some things:  
The story is a retelling, a reimagining if you will, of Spyro the Dragon, first game in the series. Writing this is an exercise for myself towards writing longer, more content-filled chapters, and towards keeping a proper update schedule - anyone who have read any of my previous work will know I'm prone to abandoning my stories on a whim - This story is where I hope to kill that habit.

I personally love reimagined stories of pre-existing games or series, but if that's not your thing, this story may not be for you. While major events from the games will still take place in the story, plenty of new events will fill out the space between.

The story will update in segments of 4 chapters, with one chapter arriving once a week, on Wednesdays. The first segment contains the prelude, however, and therefore consist of 5 chapters.

I've rambled enough - I hope you as much fun reading this as I'm having writing it!

* * *

**Prelude**** – Consequence**

A large green fist slammed into the oakwood table, making both the maps laid out on it and a few of the smaller gnorcs present jump.

"**SILENCE!**" Gnasty roared into the room.

The angry discussion that had filled the room a second ago fell silent. All eyes were on the gnorc chieftain, whose broad shoulders quivered lightly with anger. Gnasty Gnorc was massive, even compared to other large gnorcs, and in peak physical form. His weapon of choice, a large battle hammer, rested against the wall behind him – Nobody had ever seen it more than three feet from his person.

"Quit yer yabberin' – It's not gonna win us the lands back!" Gnasty glared at each of the present gnorcs, most of which lowered their gaze to the stone floor, save for Gnevil, who were still climbing back to his feet.

Gnasty slowly sat back down in his throne, breathing out as he tried to calm down. He continued, in a slightly calmer tone. "The order of attacks is still not resolved. We're running out of time."

The generals nodded solemnly, and picked up where they left off before having dissolved into petty arguing. Gnannie spoke up as the first.

"Peace Keepers should be our main focus – the dragons there are the only military force of their nation, and will provide the biggest obstacle. I believe we all agree on this." There were nods and murmurs of agreement all around the room. "Excellent. That leaves us at who is actually present there. I believe the chieftain himself," she gave a respectful bow in Gnasty's direction "should be there. You're easily our best fighter, and we'll probably need your strength and your leadership in the battle."

Another voice, far shriller and thinner, was heard from the corner. "I do believe I disagree. There are certain... Limitations that require Gnasty's presence elsewhere."

All eyes turned to the odd creature resting in the shadows of the room. The fool had been an unexpected ally, bouncing into Gnorc Gnexus with little to no warning. Nobody had really been sure what to make of Jacques, but his expertise on magic and its works were very welcomed, since such were amongst the many things where the gnorcs' abilities fell quite short of the dragons'. Still, his general lack of respect and tact had been a pain in the ass of quite a few, not to mention the creature's overall creepy appearance and demeanor. Jacquez continued before he was interrupted.

"The spell needed to be cast has quite the range, but it's not unlimited. His great gnorcness has to be located centrally in the Dragon Realms for it to work effectively." The fool shrugged. "Otherwise, the whole operation is a bust."

Although he could see anger bubble to the surface in the expression of Gnannie, Gnevil, and quite a few of his other underlings, Gnasty's tone remained calm and collected.

"Jacquez has a good point. If I'm needed centrally, that means I'll be leading the attack on Artisans. That means I need Toasty in Peace Keepers."

The scarecrow at the other side of the long table crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair in an unhappy manner. It had been very dead-set on leading the attack on Artisans from the beginning. Gnasty sighed.

"We'll need all the forces we can get at Peace Keepers. When we've succeeded, I'll be leaving Artisans in your hands, as you wanted it." He gave the scarecrow a slight glare. "I trust you to have the interest of the gnorcs at heart, rather than your own or your shepherds'. I understand you've suffered under dragon rule as well, but this war is between the gnorcs and the dragons. We appreciate your assistance and alliance," His eyes slid to the jack-without-a-box in the corner, "from ALL of you," His gaze returned to the scarecrow, who'd at least taken to less defiant body language. "but these lands are gnorc lands."

The witchdoctor next to Gnannie nodded vigorously and smacked his palm onto the table. "Yo yo! The man speaks the truth! For so long those self-righteous dragons 'ave been runnin' us oughta our own lands! Since those fools arrived here, they've caused nothin' but pain for the lovely gnorcsmen and gnorcswomen!"

Several of the gnorcs present sounded their agreement or approval with some rumbly noises or nods. Gnasty took the word before the doctor could talk himself warm.

"Indeed." He stood from his throne, making most people present have to crane their necks, and circled around the table, hammer in hand.

"According to what history we've managed to hold onto, the dragons arrived in our lands around a millennium ago. We don't know where they came from or why; But we do know that they settled on our lands and treated our people as pests. We've been driven from our homelands, left with only the island the dragons use to dump their trash. But it's their loss..."

The chieftain continued to the windows overlooking the armies beneath. A mass of able-bodied gnorcs, each laboring away at armor, weaponry, and ballistics, or running messages and packages back and forth, or maintaining order within the many people, as they came closer and closer to being fully prepared to change the lives and future of their children.

"We'll be ready to pay them back very, very soon..."

* * *

_Six weeks later..._

A blur of blue sprinted past a vase, nearly knocking it over. When a larger purple blur zoomed past it as well, it was pushed over and rolled onto its side. Two small lights, one lime the other golden, zipped along with the blurs from above.

The group dove under a fence and through a flock of sheep who spread in all directions at the approach of the dragonlings. A nearby shepherd lifted his hand and shook it angrily.

Spyro's claws dug into the dirt as he lunged forward and planted both hands firmly on Lloyd's tail, making the smaller dragon fall flat on his face. "Tag!" The purple dragonling hollered as he jumped over his fallen friend, laughing. Sparx zoomed around his head, his buzzy laughter joining Spyro's own.

Lloyd pouted in the grass as Spyro put distance between them before turning and waiting for him, tail wagging. Jingles, his own dragonfly, buzzed comfortingly in front of his head. Sighing, the younger dragon got back on his feet.

He lunged forward, hoping to catch Spyro off guard, but the other dragonling was too fast. At the time Lloyd reached the spot Spyro had taken up a few seconds ago, Spyro had already put double the distance between them, zipping back out of the paddock and back towards the castle.

Anissa jumped and lurched to the side when she saw Spyro approach her, but quickly calmed when Spyro called out. "I tagged Lloyd! He's it!"

The burgundy dragonling nodded and instead opted to run alongside Spyro as Lloyd finally made his way back to them. "Y'know, you totally ain't fair!" He yelled at Spyro as the older dragon danced around him effortlessly. "You don't even give us a chance!"

Spyro's expression soured slightly. "Melba tagged me just five minutes ago!" He retorted. "You're just slow!"

"I only could because you wouldn't run." Melba joined the others, her olive scales glistening in the evening light. "You just wanted to be tagged so you could chase us." She made no attempt to run from Lloyd, and simply sat in the grass. Anissa walked over and stood by her side as Darren poked his head out from his hiding place under the bridge.

"Melba's right." Anissa remarked. "You're bigger and stronger than us and you keep using it against us."

"And my tail hurts!" Lloyd added, although Spyro could see that his tail didn't even have a scratch.

"I don't have to apologize for you guys being a bunch of crybabies!" Spyro called out, angrily stomping off towards the waterfall. "You're all just mad I'm better than you!" Lloyd pounded again, which honestly was such a low move. Spyro dodged him anyway.

After putting some distance between himself and the dragonlings, Spyro sat down and stared into the pond water. Sparx landed carefully on his shoulder, nudging his cheek gently.

"Don't mind them Spyro," the dragonfly said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Spyro grumbled in response. "Why are they always like that? We're having fun, then as soon as I'm winning, they get mad. I don't get it!" The small dragon laid down and stared into the clear water.

Sparx buzzed sympathetically. "They're jealous."

"It's not my fault I'm older than them!" Spyro snapped. "I would've been happy to be their age, but it's not like I decided to just hatch early! It's not fair!"

Dragon and dragonfly fell quiet, staring into the waterfall as if looking for answers. It was Delbin's voice that snapped Spyro out of his sulking.

"Is the pond providing extra many answers today?"

Spyro and Sparx snapped their heads up to look at the larger dragon. The artist was standing right behind them, smiling kindly down at the duo. "Is something bothering you two?" Delbin inquired, sitting down next to the dragonling.

"... The others got mad at me because I'm older than them." Spyro sulked. "We were playing tag and having fun, but as soon as I start winning, they all get all angry and stuff. Like always." He pouted at the lake. Delbin's smile grew softer.

"Well, you do have the advantage, you have to admit. You're four years their senior-"

Spyro interrupted him angrily. "Yeah, well it's not like there's anybody else here my age! I'm too childish to hang out with the second agers, but I'm too strong to play with the first agers! What am I supposed to do?!" He slapped the water in frustration.

Delbin patted his head comfortingly. "You're doing as much as you can; You're telling me. I'll take it up with some of their parents – It's not fair for them to gang up on you like that." Delbin rubbed his chin. "I can try having a talk with Devlin too – Maybe a trip to Peace Keepers would do you good."

Spyro looked up in surprise. "Peace Keepers?"

Delbin nodded. "Yes. Your mother was a peace keeper after all, and your temper shows it. I think... I think maybe a trip there, to your roots of sort, could maybe be good for you? Besides, you never got the chance to go with the second agers on their trip, and you're a full dragon age now. I don't think some one on one teaching would be unhealthy."

Spyro stared at Delbin. Peace Keepers? They'd let him go to Peace Keepers? Spyro had always wanted to go to Peace Keepers, and he remembered how distraught he was when he was informed he couldn't go with the second agers, over 8 years ago. Under normal circumstances, the idea of going somewhere for the purpose of school wouldn't seem very alluring to the young dragon, but the peace keepers taught _fighting!_ Weapon use, battle strategies, claw-to-claw combat! Everything Spyro had ever wanted!

"Yeah! Yeah, please, do that! I'd love to go to Peace Keepers!" Spyro's tail was wagging wildly, the previous bout with the other dragonlings forgotten. Delbin held up his hands.

"Woah! Easy there pup, I still have to clear with Devlin, not to mention Nestor! I can't very well sneak you off to adventure under everyone's noses!"

Spyro stomped his foot impatiently. "Why not?! Lindar does it all the-" He snapped his jaws shut.

Delbin narrowed his eyes. "... Lindar does what now?"

"The beach!" Spyro smiled nervously. "We go to the beach sometimes, without telling dad. Just hanging around and looking at stuff." It wasn't really a lie; Lindar and Spyro DID sneak off to the beach every so often – just not the one in Stone Hill. Lindar had found a small island a good bit off the coast, where he and Spyro had a lot of fun chasing wild sheep and goofing off. But Delbin didn't need to know that.

Delbin didn't seem convinced, but let it go. As he rose to his feet, he noticed a certain dragon walking up to them.

Spyro and Delbin turned to find Nestor approaching them with his usual composed expression. "Delbin, a word, please." The artisan keeper spoke. Delbin nodded confusedly.

"Of course. What is the matter?"

"I just received news from Peace Keepers. They believe Gnasty Gnorc may be making a move soon."

Delbin's eyes widened. "Gnasty Gnorc?! Now? I thought he'd been dealt with?"

Nestor didn't answer, but instead looked at Spyro and Sparx, who were looking up at the keeper. "Spyro, could you go ask Argus to meet with me at the castle? Thank you boy."

"But-"

"Please Spyro." The look in Nestor's eyes made it clear that he would have no objections. Spyro sulkily slunk away, leaving the adults to whisper together. That was _so_ unfair!

The dragon stomped towards Argus' house, still grumbling under his breath. _"Please go away Spyro, the adults are talking!"_ He sneered, fuming as he stomped across the grassy fields. "Jerks!"

The purple dragon noticed a bright green dragonling sitting in the grass, chatting with a pinkish purple dragonfly. He ran up to her, greeting her. "Hey Mariel."

Mariel turned to look at him, smiling. "Oh hey. What's up?" Chime gave a friendly buzz.

"Nestor is a jerk – He just butted me out of a conversation!" Spyro complained to the older dragonling. "Just as things were getting interesting too!"

"Man, that sucks!" The second-ager agreed, shaking her head. "Adults are so dumb sometimes."

"Yeah..." Spyro blinked and looked at her with interest. "Hey Mariel? Do you know who the nasty gnorc is?"

Mariel looked confused. "A nasty gnorc? Aren't they all nasty?"

Spyro shrugged. "Yeah, but this one sounded important. Nestor didn't want me hearing about it at least. But I guess you don't know either."

"Well-"

"Spyro!"

Mariel was interrupted by Devlin's voice. The baker walked over to the dragonlings, smile as broad and friendly as ever. "It's time to go home boy," Devlin told the purple dragon. "It's getting late after all!"

Spyro nodded, but then remembered something important. "Yeah... Oh wait a minute! Mariel!" He turned to the dragonling. "Could you tell Argus that Nestor wants to speak with him at the castle, for me?"

She shrugged and nodded. "Sure."

"Great thanks!"

Spyro bid her farewell and skipped to Devlin's side.

"Hey dad, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure pup, what's up?"

"Who's the nasty gnorc?"

* * *

Gnatasha ran as fast as her orange legs could carry her, desperate to put some distance between herself and the monster hunting her down. It was no use however – Muscular wings beat against the desert air, and the green scaled dragon was upon her in a matter of moments.

The young gnorc's feet skid across the sand as she turned a corner sharply, hoping to shake off her pursuer. But the dragon twisted its body and kept up the pace. It overtook her and slammed into the ground before her.

Gnatasha felt her blood run cold at the sight of the monster – Dragons had always seemed scary to her, but this one... Its teeth stuck out from its jaw at odd angles, and its one eye glared into her soul from the depths of hell. She turned on her heel and started running again, ignoring the burning pain in her legs – At this point she couldn't tell if it was fatigue or if the dragon had actually lit her on fire.

Damn it, she'd already abandoned her loot, what did they want?! Wait... They. That's right, there were two of them! Where was the other-?

Gnatasha's line of thought was cut short as a purple dragon landed right in front of her and swung a large hammer-like weapon at her face. The gnorc never even felt the blow.

"Headshot!" Halvor cheered as the green dragon caught up. "You're too slow, Gunnar!"

Gunnar scowled, although that might just be an effect of how his face looked. Halvor had found him sort of scary back when he was just a first ager, but now he'd come to know Gunnar as a loyal and down-to-earth dragon, who was not quite as scary as he looked. The toothy dragon shook his head as his one good eye glared at the orange pulp at their feet.

"What's this, the sixth gem thief this month?" He asked, resting his hand on his hip. Halvor thought for a moment.

"I think it's the seventh, actually. But we used to have the same number a week, this ain't so bad."

"That's my point," Gunnar nodded, his dark crest bouncing in the desert air. "The attacks are waning."

The younger dragon pondered this for a moment as the duo went back to retrieve the dropped bag of stolen treasure, Gunnar dragging the felled gnorc behind him. "That's good right? Means they're learning to stay in their own lands, right?"

Gunnar hummed in thought. "Possibly. Or something's bubbling under the surface. Don't let your guard down."

Halvor nodded. "Guard remaining in the upper formation." He announced. Honestly, less gem thieves would be nice for a change, at least if you asked Halvor. He'd been on gem retrieval duty for a few years now, and the monotony of it was starting to irritate him. So, if the attacks would stop, Titan would have no choice but to give him a different assignment, right?

Gunnar snapped him out of his thoughts. "Boris and Trondo from the northern sector reported fewer but more aggressive attacks, just last week," The elder stated. "Several other guards and gem retrievers have reported anything from bolder attempts at swiping treasure, to direct attacks on dragonlings. Nobody's gotten seriously hurt so far, but it's still troubling."

Halvor had to agree. Attacks on dragonlings? He knew the gnorcs weren't fond of the dragons, but assaulting children were a little much.

"Any plans for how we're dealing with it?" He asked as the duo retrieved the gem bag from the ground and took off to fly back to the vault. Gunnar shrugged.

"Titan will let us know if he decides on something." He said. "But for now, let's go see if the kitchen in Dry Canyon is still open. I'm starving!"

As the two dragons took off towards the general direction of home, they unknowingly passed over a small blue figure curled up in the shadows. Norynq looked up as the large shadows disappeared in the horizon, staying put for a few minutes to make sure they didn't return.

When she felt the coast was clear, she moved forward, silently, and carefully, feeling the rough sand under her webbed feet.

She hated the desert. It was warm, dry, and difficult to traverse, and despite the protective effects of her enchanted robes, the thief could still feel herself slowly dehydrating. Amphibians had no business here.

Nonetheless she pressed on persistently, moving towards the hidden cave near her. She'd been sent here specifically for this, and if her superiors had this much faith in her, she would not disappoint.

Indeed, as she had been briefed, the hidden, well-guarded cave had a breach – a small tunnel in the eastern cliffside led directly into the large cavern within. Norynq had to fight back the urge to cackle at the sight before her.

The cavern was richly decorated in sprawling, wondrous colors, in paintings and pictures of heroes and warriors long lost, of war scenes and dragons sparring with one another or fighting back gnorcs or blue, green, and purple clad figures. In the middle of the room, in a circular nest on the floor, sat a bundle of eggs. They rested peacefully against one another, fairies zipping back and forth over each.

Norynq did a quick count and determined there to be around 23 so far – More were indubitably expected to arrive during the next 4 years before the next dragon age, where the valuable eggs would hatch into the next generation of dragons.

The thief smiled under her concealing cloak, pulling out her quill and parchment, and quickly sat down to scribble.

'Good Master Xeervu...'

* * *

"Wait, so his _name_ is Nasty?"

"Gnasty, yes. With a silent 'g'. All gnorcs start their name with a silent 'g'."

Spyro laughed. "Man, his parents must've hated him!"

Devlin glanced at the dragonling, chuckling lightly. "It's a pretty terrible name, yes. But so are most gnorc names, really."

"What's his deal anyway? I heard Nestor say he's making a move soon. What does that mean?"

Despite Devlin's best efforts, Spyro could see the quick wave of concern that flash across his face before the dragon managed to reclaim control of his facial muscles. "It's nothing, really. It's nothing to be worried about. Gnasty Gnorc is a name that resurfaces every now and then, but other than that, nothing. Just a name, really."

Spyro squinted suspiciously at his father. Why was everyone trying to keep something from him? Man, he wished someone would just tell him-

"What are we sulking about this time?"

Devlin and Spyro looked up to see a certain blue and wild-haired dragon approach them. Spyro smiled broadly and jumped forward. "Lindar!"

The clockmaker bended down and picked the dragonling off the ground to give him a hug. "Hey there, runt. Why're we glaring at Devs?" He squinted and glared exaggeratedly at Devlin, who shook his head exasperatedly. "Not enough cake? Too many chores? Taking over the world again?" Lindar inquired.

Spyro laughed from Lindar's arms. "He's just giving vague answers." He said, looking up with some hope. "Hey Lindar, who's Gnasty Gnorc?"

Devlin opened his mouth to protest, but Lindar was faster. "Gnasty? You mean the gnorc chieftain?" Spyro nodded eagerly at this new information, so Lindar continued. "He's just some nobody who was banished to the Dragon Junkyard with the rest of 'em. Let's see what do I know..." He poked his chin a few times as he pretended to think hard. "He's a simple, stupid creature, is full of hot air, oh yeah, and the most important thing!"

"What is it?" Spyro asked, tail wagging excitedly.

"Well... It's a bit of a secret..." Lindar leaned down to Spyro and stage whispered. "He is _**ugly!**_"

Spyro broke into laughter as Devlin groaned. "No seriously," Lindar went on, "He's uglier than Argus' dating history!"

"Lindar!" Devlin tried, but to no avail. The clockmaker laughed with Spyro, throwing him into the air and catching him before putting him back on the ground. "Relax, Devs, it's not like it matters. Gnasty Gnorc has been more of a poor attempt at the bogey-man since-"

Lindar was interrupted by a scream that made Spyro's blood run cold.

Eyes wide and no longer laughing, Lindar turned his head towards the sound.

"Did you-?"

"The waterfront!" Devlin exclaimed as more screams rose in the distance. "Spyro stay- Oh for the love of- **Spyro!**"

But the purple dragonling had already broken into a sprint, closely followed by Sparx. Lindar took to the skies, and Devlin ran on foot.

Spyro knew that first voice – It was Darren. Spyro had snuck up on and startled the younger dragonling enough times to recognize his screams, but this sounded different. Less spooked and more genuinely scared. Either way he didn't like it.

"Spyro, wait-!" Devlin desperately tried to keep up with his runaway pup, but truth be told, the baker had maybe been a little too fond of his own craft... Damn it, he'd have to lose weight, didn't he?

Spyro reached the waterfront right as Lindar landed. Dragonlings, dragonflies, and adult dragons were running to and from the place is completely disarray and confusion. Spyro recognized Melba, Lloyd, Darren, and several other dragonlings in the mix. But then the ships right outside the Balloonist's dock caught his attention.

They were huge, each large enough to hold several adult dragons, and ugly as hell. It looked like they'd been strapped together from several pieces of scrap metal and some driftwood. The sails were torn and patched, and what seemed to be hundreds of oars stuck out from the sides.

"Oh my- Spyro, look! Gnorcs!" Sparx exclaimed.

It was then that Spyro noticed the hundreds of green, orange, and purple creatures climbing over the railing on the ships and descending into the waters, where they swam to the shores. The Artisans shores.

Spyro's eyes went wide when a gnorc, clad in shining golden armor and wielding a large battle hammer, both with curved spikes, hopped off the ship and landed mightily in the waters below. Spyro didn't even have to ask; There was no doubt this was Gnasty Gnorc.

The beefy looking gnorc waddled through the waters and stepped onto land just as Devlin caught up with the dragonling. Spyro heard him make a sharp gasp and felt the baker's hands on his sides before being picked off the ground. Spyro wriggled in his arms, trying to keep his eyes on the scene. "Hey, no!"

"Shh!" Devlin replied as he tried to move away from the chaos. But Spyro squirmed until Devlin dropped him on the ground, and ran back to the commotion. "I wanna see this!"

Sparx buzzed and headbutted his chin, getting Spyro's attention. "Look, Nestor and Delbin are here!"

Indeed, Nestor and Delbin were pushing their way to the shores, although most dragons moved out of the way as soon as they recognized the Keeper – Nestor was by no means an intimidating figure, but he held authority, and he held respect. Spyro noticed that quite a few dragons stopped panicking as Nestor made his way to the gnorcs, stopping to simply watch and see how things panned out – Even Devlin calmed and stopped trying to scoop Spyro back into his arms, although Spyro could tell he was still in for a serious scolding for running away.

Dragons and dragonflies watched as Nestor came face to face with the gnorc chieftain – A shiver went down Spyro's spine as he realized just how big Gnasty was – Most gnorcs were only slightly taller than a third-age dragonling, but the chieftain was rivalling Nestor in height!

"What is the meaning of this, Gnorc?" Nestor demanded, voice even but angry. "You're not welcome on our shores!"

Gnasty Gnorc tilted his head gently, looking over the gathered dragons and dragonflies. Spyro subconsciously took a step back as the gnorc's eyes washed over him. He felt Sparx buzz uncomfortably behind his horn.

"Your shores?" Gnasty's voice was rough and loud, carrying well across the beach and surrounding field. And yet, it was not quite as deep as Spyro had expected. Heck, Lindar's voice was deeper! Gnasty turned his gaze back to Nestor. "_Your_ shores? These are not your shores – They never were. My people settled here millennia before your kind put your claws into our lands and drove us from our homes. So, you do not," He empathized his words by leaning slightly into Nestor's face, "get to tell us we aren't welcome on our own shores!"

To Nestor's credit, the green dragon remained unfazed with the threatening behavior of the gnorc. He stood his ground firmly, although a slight scowl spread across his face.

"The actions and claimed injustices of the past is neither the fault or responsibility of the living dragons." Nestor's voice carried as well as Gnasty's, as both dragons and gnorcs listened carefully to their leading figures. "Furthermore, _you_ weren't banished for the purpose of taking your presumed lands, but because you threatened my people and our young – Leave."

"Not responsible? _Not responsible?!_ Your ancestors took our lands and our homes and our wealth, but because you were born here, it's somehow okay for you to just not care about it, or the consequences that followed?!" Gnasty's booming voice was riling up the other gnorcs, and Spyro could hear angry yelling and muttering from both the boats and the group of gnorcs gathered on the coast. "We've been surviving off _scraps_ throughout-"

Nestor interrupted the gnorc. "Enough! If your situation was as dire as you describe, you could have come to us peacefully for help. Instead, you march up with war ships and soldiers, causing chaos in my lands, and yell in my face. Begone! I do not wish to harm you, but if you insist on hostility, I _will_ defend my people!"

Shocked gasps and fearful whispers spread amongst the artisans. Spyro's eyes widened. He'd never truly seen Nestor angry before, and here the keeper was, _threatening_ the gnorc chieftain with violence! The artisans were no fighters – Heck, Spyro had seen some of his neighbors defeated by trying to move their own equipment! Did Nestor actually stand a chance against the seemingly well-trained gnorc?

"Lindar, no!"

Devlin's desperate whisper caught Spyro's attention. As he turned his head, he noticed a familiar blue figure pushing his way towards the front, eliciting some cries from the other dragons as Lindar elbowed his way through. Spyro took a step back, and moved to stand a little closer to Devlin – He wasn't scared, like, at all. But like, maybe Devlin was? So Spyro stood protectively near him.

"Are you threatening me, dragon?" Gnasty Gnorc took a step forward, getting within inches of Nestor's face. It was getting difficult to properly see the keeper's expression from his spot, but Spyro could tell Nestor was getting dangerously close to losing his temper.

"Final warning, Gnorc. Take your men and leave these shores, now."

Gnasty's lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing a set of crooked, ugly teeth. He lifted his free hand and jabbed a finger into Nestor's chest, opening his mouth to say something, but-

"Now, now, gentlemen and gnorcs, let's try to keep the pretense of civility!"

All eyes were now on Lindar, as the chuckling clockmaker made it to Delbin, who held and arm out to stop him. It didn't stop the blue dragon however, who continued. "Look, hundreds of years have passed, and both our ancestors are long gone - Yours more so than ours, but y'know." The last part was coughed into his hand, but Spyro could hear several small gasps of shock from the dragons and see the anger rise in the gnorcs' eyes. He felt a lump build in his throat.

Nestor growled lightly under his breath as he glared at Lindar. The clockmaker hadn't known how to keep his yap shut since he learned to speak, and now was neither the time or the place... But just as Nestor opened his mouth to send Lindar away, he sensed something behind him.

Lindar kept going, despite several attempts at shushing him, and Delbin trying to push him back. "We can find a more... Intelligent way of settling this than fighting. I know it might be new to you, but hey. Live and learn, right?" Lindar gave Gnasty a smarmy smile. It was not returned.

Nestor turned in time to see the mighty battle hammer in Gnasty's left hand glow ever so slightly... He felt his wings tense and his frills stand on end as he noticed the magical energy gathering around them, getting thicker as the seconds passed by. Gnasty's dark eyes were getting a light green glow to them.

"I mean, really, you can't expect us to just move out, we've lived here for a millennium." Lindar was all but being carried away by Delbin. The stronger red dragon looked visibly frustrated, struggling to get the taller one to back off. But the laughing clockmaker continued relentlessly. "Besides, haven't you already settled in well where you are now? Why would you want to move roots anyway, that seems like a waste of-"

Nestor felt his heart leap as some of the nearby gnorcs suddenly reached into their pouches and threw a variety of fabrics, dusts, and herbs towards the leaders standing in the middle. Gnasty's hammer glowed brightly.

"_**Lindar, for the love of the ancestors, shut your-**__"_

Gnasty drew a deep breath, then threw his arm forward, pointing the hammer directly at Lindar's face with a gluttural roar. A blinding ray of green light blew out, narrowly missing Nestor and Delbin, and struck the clockmaker right between the eyes. When Nestor could see again, Lindar was gone and in his place stood a green crystal statue, shaped similarly to their ancestors' quadruped form.

There were a few moments of silence, but Nestor could've sworn they were eternities... Every dragon and gnorc stared at the statue that was once Lindar, mouths agape and eyes wide. Then Gnasty turned his hammer and pointed it at Nestor. It flashed again before the keeper could recover from his shock.

All hell broke loose. Dragons, young and old, screamed and scattered, all trying to avoid the sphere of green light gathering around the gnorc chieftain and the second green statue. Rays of green light spread out and struck the dragons at random, turning them to crystal one by one. Spyro screamed as Devlin threw his arm over a dragonling and was struck. The small purple dragon leapt forward towards his petrified father, but Sparx flew in front of him and rammed into his head. "_**Run!**_"

And Spyro ran. He had no choice. The gnorcs were leaping from their positions, running past the statues, and chasing down the panic-stricken dragonlings. Spyro saw Melba get caught and being dragged back towards the ships. He could hear Lloyd cry out in fear somewhere behind him. A few second- and third-agers were pushing past the other dragonlings, knocking several of them over and leaving them behind. Sparx blinked several times in front of his eyes, and Spyro let instinct take the wheel and followed. The duo zigzagged between statues and dragonlings and gnorcs as the sphere of green light grew rapidly, engulfing and petrifying the fleeing dragons one by one. Spyro heard Gnasty's voice behind them.

"Get every last statue and dragonling to the ship! Leave none behind!"

In the midst of the chaos, Sparx managed to notice a small cave in the rock face. Spyro was strong and fast, but there were simply too many gnorcs to keep running. The dragonfly changed direction, and he and his dragonling companion dove behind the boulders.

Spyro panted for breath as he stared into the green fields of his home. Screams and cries for help or of anger felt the air, and dragonlings of all ages were running for their lives as the gnorcs hunted them down. Spyro could see no more adult dragons anywhere, and realized the green sphere had passed over them.

He looked back towards the statues near the beach, and saw them being hauled onto the waiting ships by strong-looking gnorcs. Gnasty was climbing up a ladder on the side of the ship he had come from.

The small dragonling's eyes skipped between each statue. Where was his dad? Where was Lindar, or Nestor?

... He couldn't tell them apart. They were completely identical. Spyro's vision started swimming.

The last thing he saw before blacking out was a dragonling, tied up and still, being thrown aboard a smaller boat.

* * *

And thus is begins. Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think so far!


	2. Chapter 1: Refuge

**Chapter 1, ****Refuge**

The early sunlight shone upon the mighty towers of the Artisan Castle, illuminating the white bricks and purple spires. Within the grassy fields, sheep wandered about, grazing peacefully while various insects buzzed this way and that. Small frogs croaked from the pond, and birds of various colors and kinds flew about, foraging for worms and seeds for themselves and their chicks.

Green figures wandered all over the place, moving and setting up construction or demolition equipment, building huts and reconstructing the standing dragon architecture to fit better to the gnorcs' smaller forms. A gnorc wearing a hard hat and wielding a clipboard pointed this way and that, direction his fellow settlers to their duties.

A bit away from the builders, a young couple ran hand in hand, giggling and carrying a little picnic basket between them. They skipped around a hill, leaving them well out of sight of the supervisor, and sat down near an abandoned playground. It would eventually be taken apart and reused elsewhere, but for now it was an idyllic little getaway for the newly engaged couple.

As the duo spread out a tablecloth, a small golden light moved behind them and towards the picnic basket. It circled the basket a couple of times, before retreating back to the playhouse to the waiting dragonlings.

"Just fruits and some bread," Sparx reported downheartedly. "I don't think the gnorcs even eat meat at all."

Spyro closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. Sandie sniffled hopelessly. "What are we going to eat?" She cried lowly, making the orange dragonling next to her shush her angrily.

Spyro hesitated for a short moment, looking at the two. He frowned to himself as he made a quick decision.

"It's better than nothing – Wait here." He and Sparx moved to the doorway, before he turned back shortly. "And I mean it! Don't do an Azura!"

The two nodded quickly, and Spyro felt convinced that they would stay. He turned and hopped into the daylight, then immediately moved into the shadows of a nearby tree. Moving from tree to tree and following Sparx' lead, the purple dragonling snuck closer and closer to the unsuspecting gnorc couple.

He made a face of disgust as he saw them. They were... Busy. Slobbering all over each other's faces, paying no attention to their surroundings. He had to fight back the urge to gag – Spyro already thought 'love' were gross and gnorcs were just... So much more disgusting.

It made it much easier to steal the food though. Spyro felt his empty stomach rumble as he slowly snuck within reach of the basket, ever so slowly inching forward until his teeth clamped shut around the handle.

Just as carefully as when he approached, the dragonling moved backwards, dragging the basket across the ground momentarily, before he lifted his head a little higher and carried off the plunder.

The gnorc couple never even had a clue he'd just robbed them of their food. Normally this would've made Spyro giddy and proud, but as it was now, he just felt angry that such an incompetent and stupid race could make such short work of the dragons. Worse yet, more and more dragonlings were getting captured and sailed off to who knows where – Spyro had kept Garret and Sandie safe for the last few days... And Azura, before she snuck off to find her cousin and got caught.

But even though the slightly older dragonling had found a good hiding spot for the others, it'd been far too difficult and dangerous to find food. Spyro was too young to hunt – Devlin had never taught him how to, and while Lindar and Spyro had chased around sheep and birds on the beachy island, the small dragon had never actually hunted on his own yet. This had become a source of great frustration for the young dragon, since the sheep had all escaped their paddocks once the shepherds had disappeared off to who knows where. There was food walking all over the place, and Spyro couldn't catch it. And to rub salt in the wound, the sheep mostly stuck to the open grassy fields around the gnorcs, making it impossible to get close without getting caught.

Spyro hissed under his breath as he and Sparx returned to the playhouse. He desperately wanted to fight back, but he'd seen what happened to the third and second agers that tried to rise against the settlers – It'd been just three days since the gnorcs had sailed into the Artisan borders, and the dragonlings who didn't get caught during the initial attack were now getting picked off one by one.

The second and third agers were the first to go – they were larger and had a harder time hiding, and the gnorcs found them to be more of a threat than the first agers. But every time a first ager got too close, they were jumped and carried off. Like Azura.

Sandie and Garret rushed over when he pulled the basket through the doorway, and the dragonling threw off the napkin resting atop of the goods.

Sparx had been right – the basket held little more than some apples and mushrooms, and four round little breads. Spyro handed each of the other dragonlings a bread, and started chewing down on one himself. It was dry and hard on the outside and soft and sticky on the inside, making it hard to chew and swallow for the carnivorous dragonlings. Spyro reached for the last bread.

"Hey!" Garret protested, reaching over to take the bread from Spyro but being too slow to stop the older dragonling from tearing the round bread in two and shoving a half into his mouth. "That's not fair!" Spyro glanced at him as he put the other half back in the basket.

"I'm the one running around getting food for you – I need all the energy I can get."

Despite Spyro's logic, neither Sandie or Garret seemed particular happy. Garret tore the last half over and handed Sandie the bigger piece and taking the last bit for himself. Sandie kept her eyes on the wooden floor.

"... What are we going to do?" She whimpered, cradling her tail in her hands.

Spyro sent her a sad look. Sandie had been nearly caught when the whole thing went down, and had only escaped because one of the fleeing third agers had knocked part of a roof down on her and her pursuer when it'd escaped – By accident, Spyro assumed. Sandie's tail had been trapped under the rubble, and the tip had been nearly torn off. Her tail was broken in two places, and Azura had said they needed to keep the wound clean constantly, or it'd get infected.

Unfortunately, their only source of water was a little pond near the playground, and they were drinking from it. So, keeping the beige dragonling safe had been a challenge. Spyro didn't know what they were going to do if Sandie got sick.

He took a deep breath, and looked at the others. "We need to figure out a future plan. We can't stay here forever."

Garret made a frustrated sound. "Where are we supposed to go?! There's nowhere to hide! Anywhere we go they'll just take over too!"

Sandie started sniffling again, and Spyro desperately raked his brain for ideas. "I... I'll go see if I can find some more dragonlings out there. Maybe they have some ideas, or more food or something. It's better than nothing, right?"

Garret thought about it a bit. "Yeah... Or maybe there are some second agers or third agers out there. They could protect us, right?"

Spyro frowned. And he hadn't? Ungrateful little-

"What about Marco?"

Spyro and Garret turned to look at Sandie. "Marco?"

"The balloon man. On the docks. The squirrel guy."

"I don't think he's a squirrel-" Spyro started, but Garret cut him off.

"Yeah! He could fly us away from here!"

Spyro pondered for a moment. "I know a place-" He started, but was cut off again.

"We could go to Dream Weavers!" Sandie exclaimed. "It's so cool and really high up in the sky, so the gnorcs maybe can't get there!"

"But-"

"Or Magic Crafters!" Garret shot in excitedly. "It's also really high up, and the magic crafters are super smart, so like, they'd definitely have-"

"HEY!" Spyro yelled irritably. "Could I talk for a minute?!"

Both the other dragonlings and their dragonflies quieted down, although Garret was frowning at Spyro. Spyro chose to ignore that.

"I know a small island not far from here – I used to go there all the time with Lindar. We can hide there, and then go to Peace Keepers later!"

"Lindar got us all _in_ this mess!" Garret grumbled.

"... I don't wanna go to Peace Keepers..." Sandie mumbled to herself, but shut up when Spyro glared at her.

"Gnasty Gnorc would've done something even if Lindar hadn't said anything!" Spyro retorted angrily. "And the peace keepers are fighters! If anyone can fight back the gnorcs, it's them!"

"And both Dream Weavers and Magic Crafters are kinda far away," Bubbles, Sandie's cobalt blue dragonfly offered hesitantly. "Peace Keepers _is_ closer."

"And there's food on the island!" Sparx interjected. "And fresh water."

Neither of the younger dragonlings seemed excited at the idea. But since they didn't keep complaining and whining either, Spyro took the lead again.

"Then it's decided. I'll go to Marco and ask if he can take us to Peace Keepers or at least that island."

Sparx looked into the bright sunshine outside the playhouse.

"Let's wait until nightfall first," He suggested. "We'll be much harder to see."

Spyro hesitated but nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get some sleep."

And with that, the dragonlings and their dragonflies settled for the day. Spyro curled up in a corner, taking a last look at the smaller dragons before he let himself drift off, Sparx settled comfily between his horns.

Sandie was curled up with Bubbles snuggled under her short wings. The wounded dragonling was already asleep, mumbling and whining occasionally. At the opposite corner of the playhouse, Garret was curled up with his back to Spyro, while Crackle, his bright red dragonfly, rested on his shoulder. Spyro could hear the duo grumble unhappily.

That whiny little- Spyro shook the thought off and forced himself to ignore the noises and the sunlight, and soon settled into uneasy slumber.

* * *

Spyro awoke to Sparx gently buzzing in his ear. The last rays of sunlight shone through the doorway as he stretched and climbed to his feet. He glanced over at his roommates, who were still snoring softly into the evening.

He considered leaving without saying anything, but then Sandie blinked awake and looked at him confusedly.

"Spyro...?"

He sighed lightly. "Yeah. I'm headed to Marco's. Stay here, okay?"

She nodded sleepily and laid back down again, closing her eyes. Spyro wasn't entirely certain she'd even been awake enough to remember what he said.

... Good enough!

He hopped out the doorway and snuck through the playground with Sparx staying close. The duo left the playground, Sparx keeping slightly ahead and checking corners, and Spyro trailing behind.

Marco's dock was on the other side of the castle grounds, through an archway on the opposite wall. They'd have to be careful.

As they left, Spyro cast a solemn look back towards the green glow from the pond – The glow didn't come from the pond itself per say, but from the green, crystalized dragon that the gnorcs had at some point dragged over and left by the pond.

With all the statues being identical, Spyro had no idea who it was. Most likely, it was someone Spyro had never met, and with so many dragons living in Artisans, the chances of this particular dragon being someone close to Spyro was almost null.

Still, Spyro had found some comfort in the presence of the statue. When Garret was especially ungrateful, or Sandie seemed extra hurt, Spyro had come down to talk to the statue, pretending it was Devlin. Other days, he'd pretend it was Lindar, and sit and have a one-sided chat about past adventures... And how much he missed the adult dragons.

Shaking off the thought, Spyro focused on the task at hand, and snuck into the open grassy area, him and Sparx keeping low and close to the shadows cast by the wall. Several gnorcs were wandering here and there, but the dragonfly was relieved to see that due to the lateness of the day, most of the builders and settlers had headed into their small tents for the night.

Sparx flew carefully to the next bend of the castle wall, seeing just a few gnorcs wandering about. He whispered back to Spyro.

"There's a few ahead... We'll have to be- Spyro? Spyro? _Spyro!_"

The purple dragonling had turned around and was moving through the grass staying so low his belly was almost sliding across the ground. The dragon's eyes were focused firmly on a couple of gnorcs walking the opposite direction while carrying some bags. Sparx jittered in the air, losing a few centimeters of height as he zipped back to Spyro.

"What are you doing?!" He hissed at his friend. "You'll get us killed!"

"They're carrying dragon treasure," Spyro whispered back, not changing direction or taking his eyes off of his targets. "It belongs to the dragons. I want it back."

Sparx jittered again with barely controlled rage and frustration as he flew in front of the dragon's eyes.

"It's too dangerous! What'll happen if they catch you?! Or to Bubbles, Crackle, Sandie, and Garret?!"

Spyro scowled lightly, trying not to lose focus. "I'm not gonna get caught!"

"You can't be sure of that! You're doing an Azura!"

"I'm going after the treasure no matter what you say! So, you can either help or be quiet!" Spyro hissed lowly, shifting his gaze momentarily to glare at the dragonfly.

Sparx hung in the air for a few seconds as Spyro passed him, then sighed deeply and returned to his regular spot, flying slightly behind Spyro's ear. "What's the plan?"

"We wait for an opportunity." Spyro replied as he followed the gnorcs from the shadows.

"And if they see us?" Sparx asked flatly.

"... Then we run."

"Brilliant plan as always, my sire and lord." Sparx deadpanned. "What could go wrong?"

Despite Sparx' misgivings, the dragon and dragonfly duo were not discovered or attacked – in fact, the two gnorcs carrying the gems were laughing loudly and tossing some sort of sack back and forth between them. Even from his point of view, several meters away from the pair, Spyro could see their faces were flushed and dopey... Err, dopier than usually at least.

It had been a good call to wait until nightfall before sneaking out – Most gnorcs had gone to sleep by now, leaving the fields almost empty if you didn't count the hundreds of small tents huddled together at the foot of the castle.

Spyro grinded to a halt and laid down in the grass when the gnorcs he was shadowing stopped and made an impromptu rest stop in the grass, letting the treasure bags lie around them as they sat and chatted.

"So, like, Gnicole and Gned _said_ they were gonna fix the southern tower a bit, but they were gone for an _hour_, and the tower ain't been fixed no bit."

"How much," the gnorc was interrupted by a hiccup, "You wanna bet they were busy-"

Spyro made a face as he struggled to ignore the rest of the conversation.

He took the opportunity to move forward, circling around the gnorcs until he was approaching them from the back. His eyes were fixated on the gnorcs as he snuck forward towards the closest treasure bag, looking out for any sign of having been discovered. Likewise, his ears were intensively listening for any yelling or surprised outburst of other gnorcs seeing him.

But none came. The little dragon closed his teeth around the bag and pulled back, freezing with horror as the gems inside clinked and rattled against one another.

The gnorcs made no sign of having heard it. Ever so slowly, Spyro rose from his crouched position, lifting the bag off the ground and then backing into the shadows and as far back to the wall as he could get. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest, and judging by Sparx' gasping for air, the dragonfly was just as rattled as Spyro felt.

Still keeping an eye on the chatting gnorcs, Spyro and Sparx returned to their path to the balloonist's dock, but Spyro soon found himself in another problem; The bag was too heavy for him to lift all the way to the dock, and the constant jingling of the gems were going to get him caught sooner or later. He put the bag down when he'd put a considerable distance between himself and the wandering gnorcs.

"Just leave it," Sparx grumbled, as if he'd read Spyro's thoughts. "It's just gems."

Spyro shook his head frustratedly. "No! It belongs to the dragons, not the gnorcs! I... I can't just..." The purple dragonling faltered slightly.

Sparx' mood sobered a bit, looking at the distraught dragon. The dragonfly pondered the dilemma for a bit while Spyro hung his head.

"Hey... We could hide it."

Spyro looked up, mild confusion on his face.

"Like, you can't carry it all the way to Marco... But if we leave it here, we can come back for it later!" Sparx buzzed. "You won't have to carry it, and you won't lose it!"

Spyro thought for a moment, then nodded. Looking around, he noticed a small bush near the wall. He gave himself a hesitant, but reassuring nod, and dragged the bag to the plant. After some pushing and digging, he managed to hide the bag somewhat well. It should be at least hard to see at a distance, he thought to himself.

He looked to the dragonfly, who gave him a thumbs up and a big smile.

Spyro nodded again and the duo marched on.

* * *

Marco had been about ready to head to bed when there was a knock on the front door. The balloonist gritted his teeth in agitation, and considered just ignoring the late-comer – His hours were clearly stated on the door. Who the hell showed up in the middle of the night and just expected others to drop everything to help them?!

He thought better of it, however, and trudged begrudgingly to the door. It really wouldn't be wise of him to upset the gnorcs, especially when he and the others were already on thin ice with the colonizers- Huh?

"Marco!" The small dragon at his door whispered intently. "Let me in!"

For a moment, the rodent was tempted to turn the dragon away – Hiding and protecting dragonlings was more than risky, as Ivan had recently learned... But looking over the poor child... He could see his ribs. When was the last time this boy had a decent meal?

Marco hesitatingly stepped aside while quickly skimming the area for any signs of nearby gnorcs – But the dragonling must've moved carefully enough to completely avoid detection, for there were none.

Spyro mumbled a very relieved thank you as he hopped past the doorway and into the small building.

Marco closed the door behind him as he followed after the dragon and its golden dragonfly.

Marco's home was furnished with a focus of comfort and pragmatism. Considering the balloonist was located in Artisans, Spyro was surprised to find very few decorative items in the one-room home. He could see a kitchen area with a stove, some cupboards, and a table with a chair, and a bed and a dresser at the opposite side of the house. Leaning against the wall was a chest that Spyro supposed contained the balloonist's earnings.

Spyro took a seat on the floor as Marco walked over and rummaged through one of the cupboards. The dragon's eyes went wide when he returned with what could only be salted mutton, and placed it in front of the dragon without a word.

For a few minutes no words were spoken as Spyro ate, and Marco and Sparx looked at one another quietly, wordlessly confirming the other's feelings on the grimness of the situation.

Eventually Spyro finished his meal, and looked back up at the balloonist in speechless gratitude. Marco nodded lightly in return, then pulled over the single chair in the room to sit in front of the small dragon.

"How are you surviving kiddos?"

Spyro lowered his gaze to the floor silently. Sparx sent his companion a sad look, then turned to the balloonist.

"Not so great. It's really hard to get around, and there's no food. Spyro and I've been looking after a couple first-agers since the attack, but we're all going to starve to death if we don't figure something out. It's why we're here."

Marco held up his hand to stop the dragonfly. "I'm sorry. I don't think there's much I can do. You're not safe with me."

"Why not?!" Spyro demanded desperately. "The gnorcs aren't after _you! _Why should they come here?!"

Marco took a deep breath to steady himself before answering. "... Because we work for them now."

"_**WHA-**_" Both Sparx and Marco frantically shushed the agitated dragon before he could alert any gnorcs of his presence with his yelling.

"_What the hell?!_" Spyro demanded in a low hiss, glaring furiously at the uncomfortable balloonist. "_You're __**working**__ for them?!_"

Marco looked guiltily at the floor. "I'm afraid so," he said quietly. "Gnasty and his men has demanded that the balloonists transport them from homeworld to homeworld, or they'll run us out of our homes. We're barely getting paid either."

Spyro remained unconvinced. "So, you sold out! You abandoned us when we needed you, and now you're working cozily for the gnorcs while the dragons are-"

"We don't have a choice!" Marco spat back. "We either work for the gnorcs or we lose our homes, our balloons, and probably our lives! Our situation is not that different from-" The man cut himself off when he saw the look in the dragon and his companion's eyes.

"-I... I'm sorry. I can't begin to fathom what you kids are going through right now. I shouldn't have raised my voice like that." He took a trembling breath. "My point is, we don't have much choice. If we did, I can assure you we'd be helping you any way we could. We may work for the gnorcs out of necessity, but I promise, the balloonists are still 100% loyal to the dragons."

Spyro bit back angry tears. "You're as full of hot air as... as your _balloon_! If you were really loyal to the dragons, you'd be flying the dragonlings to safety! We should be going to Peace Keepers for help, they'd know what... What to..."

Spyro trailed off at the look on the balloonist's face. "No..."

"I'm sorry, kid... It wasn't just Artisans. All of the dragon lands have fallen under gnorc rule. That spell Gnasty cast... It had a long enough range to reach Peace Keepers and Beast Makers, and probably even as far as to reach Magic Crafters and Dream Weavers – The first thing we did after the attack was to contact friends and families in the other lands – the story is the same everywhere."

Spyro felt the world break apart around him. Peace Keepers had fallen? The gnorcs had taken every bit of land there was to take. The young dragon started feeling lightheaded, and hadn't realized he was gasping for air until Sparx gently reminded him to breathe. The dragonfly took the word.

"There's gotta be some place safe. Spyro and I know a small island just off the north coast. If you could get us there, we could hide at least for the time being...!"

Marco shook his head. "I know what island you're talking about. The gnorcs are using it to house their kids, because there's no dragonlings there. I'm sorry."

"If you were really sorry, you'd help us!" Spyro spat, glaring at the balloonist through tearful eyes. The rodent looked at him helplessly.

"What do you want me to do?"

Spyro opened his mouth to answer. Then he closed it again. He opened it one more time, but no words left him. Slowly he closed his jaw and looked silently at the floor.

"I'm sorry." Marco said weakly.

No words were spoken in the small house for a long while. Eventually, Spyro and Sparx mumbled their thanks and goodbyes, and Marco let them out the front door after making sure the coast was clear. Dragon and dragonfly bitterly went back the way they came, retracing their steps back to the bush where Spyro had hidden the bag of gems – So far the only headway they'd made against the gnorc oppressors.

Spyro trudged across the quiet field, sun so far hidden behind the hills that his bright purple scales seemed obsidian in the night. The golden light from Sparx was, aside from the faint stars far above them, the only light source for the small dragon, who'd likely never found the gems again without his companion's help.

As they reached the small vegetation, Spyro dug into the soft soil and pushed it aside as he retrieved the bag of gems. Grabbing the bag with his teeth, the young dragon jerked it free, and started dragging it with him as he began heading back to the playground. He had nothing to show after being gone so long, besides his own full belly.

How was he going to explain this? "Oh sorry, Marco was no help besides giving me a bunch of food, but I didn't think to save some for you before it was too late, and he couldn't afford to give up any more. We cool?"

Sparx nuzzled his companion's cheek, as if reading his thoughts. Spyro hummed lowly in response, quietly thankful for the dragonfly's companionship. The duo slowly pulled the gems through the fields of grass, both quietly envisioning how it used to be filled with dragons and dragonflies, with rays of sun shining down upon them. For a long few moments the only sound to be heard was the rattling and scraping of the gems.

Dragon and dragonfly jumped as a warning cried out not far from them. They'd been seen.

A group of about 6 gnorcs suddenly came charging down the hill towards them. Spyro threw stealth to the wind, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, bag of gems continuously striking him on the neck and shoulder as it bounced around.

"Drop the gems!"

Spyro ignored the prompt as he sprinted, with the gnorcs gaining ground steadily.

"Spyro, drop the gems!" Sparx tried again, to no avail. "They'll catch us!"

The dragon hissed through his teeth as he carried on, refusing to let go of his prize. Behind them, he could hear the gnorcs yelling, calling for him to stop and for each other to catch him. If he didn't do something soon, he was going to be shoved in a cage and sailed away.

Salvation came when Spyro noticed a ledge a good 7 feet above the ground – far enough that neither he nor the gnorcs could get there... Unless...

He sped up momentarily, threw the gems as high as he could, watched with satisfaction as they landed perfectly on the ledge, and sped up a small nearby hill.

He stopped, turned, calculated the distance... And jumped.

He heard the yelp and felt the impact when the tip of his tail smacked a gnorc in the face. With his arms outstretched, he just barely managed to land his claws into the ledge, and scrambled up before any of the gnorcs could grab him and drag him down. Panting for breath, the purple dragonling watched and listened as the gnorc struggled to follow him. They had to give up though – None of them were tall enough to reach him.

After a few minutes of wasted struggle, the gnorcs gave up and stepped back, glaring up at the dragon. Sparx buzzed this way and that, looking all over the ledge and coming to an uncomfortable discovery. "Uh, Spyro..?"

Spyro meanwhile was listening to the gnorcs as they argued on what to do. He gritted his teeth when one of them ran off, yelling for backup. "Damn it!"

"Spyro!" Sparx called out, finally catching the dragon's attention. "We're trapped!"

"What?!" Spyro jolted, and looked around. The dragonfly was correct – The ledge was just that – A ledge. Sheer cliff wall blocked them off behind them, and gnorcs surrounded them at all other angles – If Spyro jumped down, he'd be trapped.

Spyro mumbled a few words he'd promised Devlin to never say out loud, and hissed at the gnorcs. He considered jumping back to the hill, but he could already tell he'd never make it past the group of gnorcs. He bit his lip in frustration.

"Spyro?"

Both dragon and dragonfly jumped out of their skin when a new voice rung behind them. They whirled around to find Darren staring at him.

"Where- How-?! When did you get up here?" Sparx questioned confusedly. "You weren't here a second ago!"

"Darren!" Spyro exclaimed, but was hushed by the smaller pinkish red dragonling. His dragonfly, Flicker, zipped over to the duo. "Shh! Are you hurt?" When Spyro shook his head, Flicker nodded and zipped back to Darren. "Then let's go!"

"To where?!" Sparx demanded frustratedly, but was hushed. The dragonfly put up a grumpy expression as Darren started messing with the cliff behind them.

Sparx sour expression fell when a small part of the wall moved aside, revealing a small tunnel behind it. Flicker zipped inside, gesturing for Spyro and Sparx to follow him. Spyro quickly grabbed the gems, and entered the tunnel. Darren pulled the wall closed behind them, and the cave was illuminated only by the golden and purple lights from the dragonflies.

Flicker led the way, as the tunnel was too slim for Darren to get past Spyro. The group carefully snuck deeper into the rock, and before long, Spyro noticed a faint, flickering light ahead of them. After a few moments of walking, the tunnel widened into a large cave, where a multitude of similar tunnels led this way and that.

Almost everywhere he looked, there were dragonlings – most were first-agers, but he noticed a few second-agers amongst them... And Keith over there was a third-ager, so apparently at least a few of the older kids had evaded the gnorcs.

"Oh my Ancestors..!" Spyro exclaimed as he looked around. "How long-?!"

"Mariel found it the day we were attacked," Darren explained. "Most of us have been hiding out here since."

"Dude, that's amazing!" Spyro exclaimed excitedly. "What about food and water?"

"There's plenty food here – and clean water too! I think these tunnels used to be some sort of protective hiding place for dragonlings, long ago? Anyway, we've been pretty much safe here – You're lucky I heard you two on the ledge!"

Spyro nodded with a grin as he looked around. _Safe_... He could bring Garret and Sandie here too, and they'd be okay. Sandie wouldn't get ill from her wound if she were here.

For the first time in days, Spyro felt a flicker of hope.

Outside the hidden tunnels, an irritable supervisor listened as six gnorcs babbled about a magically disappearing dragon.

Damn it, it was far too late for this nonsense!


	3. Chapter 2: A Sparkle of Light

Welcome back everyone, and happy holidays! I hope you're all having a good time!

Without further ado, chapter 2!

* * *

"Every gem?!"

Spyro puffed out his chest and nodded brazenly. "Every single one!"

The other dragonlings exchanged wary glances. A violet dragonfly carefully flew closer to Spyro.

"Are you sure that's a good idea..? Stealing-"

"It's not stealing! It was stolen from _us_ in the first place!"

"-_Recovering_ then, all the treasure might just make the gnorcs really angry. What if they-"

"What difference does it make?!" Sparx interjected. "They're already hunting us, starving us, and shipping us away to who-knows-where! We've been doing nothing but hiding out and praying to the Ancestors for better times – I think it's high about time we started retaliating!"

"Like the second and third agers did..." A dragonling mumbled. Spyro glanced around, but they must've ducked their head.

Sparx went on undeterred. "The gnorcs need the treasure for something – We may not be strong enough to mount a direct counterattack, but taking back the gems will definitely give them grief!"

"We can't just- _They'll catch us!_" Flazh hissed, blinking fiery orange. "We'll be shoved in cages and jars and sailed to some Ancestor-forsaken place that nobody ever comes back from! It's idiotic!"

"We're too smart and too fast for them – and with all the hidden passages and entrances, they'll never catch us!"

"Wait... The passages? You want to use the passages?!" Fuchsee, a female dragonfly with a strong pink glow, demanded in disbelief as her dragonling Silk cowered behind her. "You'll lead the gnorcs directly to us! This is the only sanctuary we have!" Several dragonlings started whimpering and mumbling fearfully amongst one another. Sparx fought back a growl of frustration as he watched uncertainty and fear win over the dragonflies and dragonlings one by one.

"If they had the brains to find this place they would have already!" Spyro suddenly cut in, catching everybody's attention. "They were _stumped_ when I disappeared right in front of them! Gnorcs are barely smarter than the average sheep!"

Sparx sent his lifelong companion a grateful and relieved look before turning back to the gathered reptiles and insectoids with renewed determination.

"We're not safe here – They'll find this place sooner or later, and sitting here twiddling our thumbs means that we'll just savor a few days of pretending to be okay – If we're just going to give up, we might as well surrender!"

Spyro continued where Sparx left off before anyone could interrupt the dragonfly again. "Nestor didn't just stand down and let Gnasty Gnorc walk all over him – Nestor's no fighter, but he still fought back, even when things looked really bad. So did the third and second agers. So will we."

Spyro couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself and Sparx as he saw more and more dragonlings nod in response, determined looks on their faces. One of the second-agers, a girl named Leah with dull plum scales, hopped off of her perch and walked to Spyro's side.

"The punks have a point." She declared. "The gnorcs are stupid. We can take them no problem and as long as we're smart and working together, we can get back the gems! They'll never catch us or stop us! Let's do it for Nestor and the others!"

Cheers arose loudly as the dragonlings declared their intent of fighting back. Spyro grinned at the sight before him, and subtly fist-bumped Sparx. Leah turned to him. "You can leave the gems here – We'll guard them. Do you know if anybody else is trapped out there?"

Spyro jolted lightly. "Oh! Yeah, Garret and Sandy are still in the playhouse! Sandy's hurt too!"

"Then we'll need to go find them," Leah's dragonfly, Dewey, said determinately. "Lead the way, punks!"

* * *

After leaving the bag of gems safely behind with the other dragonlings, Spyro, Darren, Leah, and assorted dragonflies headed back out into the night. The group took a passage that opened up much closer to the playground, causing them to have to walk in a single line through the narrow tunnels. Leah seemed to have the most trouble, but she was a little tall for her age after all.

"So why are you so focused on the gems?" Darren suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Spyro tried to look at him, but his horns caught on the low ceiling. "What do you mean?"

"Back at the cave. You really want to get the gems back – Why?"

Spyro huffed lightly as he freed his horns and continued forwards. "Because they're ours. The gnorcs keep dragging them around like they don't even matter, but the dragons spent centuries getting them all. They're dragon history."

"The gnorcs are using them for something too, and taking them will hurt them. Like we said before." Sparx added.

Darren didn't really answer, but Sparx glanced at him, and he seemed satisfied with the answer he was given.

Soon enough, the sextet of dragons and dragonflies reached the secret door. Leah held the passage open ever so slightly, and Dewey flew out to check the area.

"Coast is clear!" The dark blue dragonfly declared. "Hurry it up!"

One by one, the dragonlings crept out into the night. Spyro quickly recognized the playground off to the left.

"Over there." He pointed. Leah nodded, and the group crept towards the playground along with cliff wall.

Back in the playhouse, Garret was watching Sandie quietly – The smaller dragonling had gotten worse since last night, but not by much. She was fast asleep, breathing lightly and softly while Bubbles watched over her. Crackles buzzed softly next to his ear.

"Spyro and Sparx hasn't returned yet. You think..?"

"I don't care." Garret grumbled. "If he got caught it's his own fault."

"Then what about us? What about Sandie?"

Garret looked at his hands. "...If Spyro doesn't come back, I'll go look for food." He mumbled. Crackles glanced at the orange dragonling and shook his head softly.

Garret had just settled down to nap a bit when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the playhouse. Jumping to his feet and hopping a few steps closer to Sandie, he stared panickily at the door opening, imagining dozens of gnorcs barraging through. When he'd later retell the story, Crackle would inform him that the door was far too small for a normal gnorc to fit through, which would've torn up the entire playhouse. It would not make Garret feel better.

Instead of gnorcs however, it was a young dragoness with dark scales who stuck her head inside. A wide grin spread on her face.

"Found 'em!" She declared to two younger dragonlings who too looked into the small playhouse, one of which appeared to be Spyro.

... Great.

Leah hopped into the playhouse and quickly gestured for Garret and Crackle to come out. "Come on, we got a safehouse- Hey, is she okay?"

Sandie had been awoken by the noise, but was still fairly groggy. The little dragon looked around blearily as Leah skipped over and carefully maneuvered her onto her back. "I'll carry her. Let's go, we can't stay here for long!"

Without giving anybody any time to protest, Leah skipped back out the door, eliciting a yelp from Darren whom she almost landed on, and started heading back the way they came. Spyro motioned for Garret to follow, as he and Darren, and their respective dragonflies, followed after Leah.

Garret hesitated for a stubborn moment, but then Crackle headbutted him, and he sulkily hopped out of the playhouse.

The night sky was clear and full of stars as the group moved back towards the caves. Leah took the lead while Sparx kept lookout. Garret trudged along in the back, staring at the grass in front of him as he walked. His silent moping was interrupted when his face suddenly collided with Darren's tail.

"Hey-!" Garret started, but Spyro cut him off with a shushing noise, suddenly turning and pushing the younger two dragonlings back from where they came.

"Turn around! Go back!" The purple dragon hissed lowly.

Garret was about to protest when he saw Leah turn back as well, a slightly panicked look on her face. "Gnorcs!" Dewey warned.

The group quickly moved back towards the playground, but it was pretty clear they weren't all going to fit inside the small playhouse, least of all Leah. Instead, the young dragoness diverted from the route and led the little group towards the pond. Spyro bit his lip as he looked at the bright green statue sitting on a little hill near the water.

Quickly and not quite as silently as Sparx could've wished, the dragonlings bundled together in a pile behind the statue. With Garret all but laying on him, Spyro was pressed firmly against the warm, pulsating crystal. The group held their breaths as Dewey peeked out from under the statue's wing.

"They're coming closer..!" The dragonfly whispered, and true enough, the group could hear gruff voices as a small group of gnorcs walked by the playground. Nobody could make out what they were saying, but they seemed to be grumpy about something.

The dragonlings held their breaths as the gnorcs wandered closer and closer to the statue. Dewey's tiny heart skipped a beat when they briefly looked into the playhouse, before continuing closer to the statue.

"-Guard duty just because of that dragonling getting away."

"Yeah, the supervisor's a real dick sometimes!"

The gnorcs were getting so close now that Dewey had to hide under Leah's wing now, as to not have his glow give away the dragonlings' position. Spyro felt himself shudder as he pushed himself into the statue, desperately trying to imagine it being Devlin watching over him.

"Hey, what's that?"

It was an accident really. Spyro heard the gnorc, and Darren's frightened gasp, and the shock and tension (Spyro would never admit to having been afraid) made Spyro let loose a tiny burst of magic.

Devlin had, long ago, taught Spyro how to let loose tiny amounts of harmless magic, as a way to lose some steam in a non-harmful way, after one too many fights. Only this time, instead of vaporizing into the air like invisible mist, the magic seemed to get sucked into the statue.

Spyro barely had time to register this, before the crystalized dragon started shaking wildly on its pedestal. Cracking and crunching noises were heard as still larger shards started falling from the statue.

As the dragonlings jumped away in shock and fear, and the gnorcs yelled and pointed, Spyro stared in open-mouthed horror at the crumbling dragon.

"_What did you do!?_" Garret screamed, making Spyro turn to look at him, tail curled around his leg.

"I- I didn't-! I didn't mean to-! It was an accident-!" He sobbed.

He killed Devl- He killed a dragon. He just killed a helpless dragon, and now he got his friends caught by the gnorcs. They were never going to forgive him; nobody was ever going to forgive him! Heck, this _could_ have been Devlin, or Lindar, or Nestor or-!

Spyro sobbed and gasped for breath as the gnorcs charged towards the frightened dragonlings. Darren and Sandie screamed in fear.

As Leah, Dewey, Bubbles, and Crackle tried to hold off two of the gnorcs, a third neared the traumatized purple dragonling, a worried expression on his face as he reached out towards Spyro, while ignoring Sparx' headbutts and bites. One of the others had gotten a hold of Leah's wing and leg, and was dragging her towards him, making Sandie fall to the ground with a squeal.

The gnorc near Spyro had just placed a careful hand on the distraught dragonling's shoulder when bright red flames blazed through the air, making the gnorc near Leah catch on fire.

As the gnorc screamed, a ferocious roar bellowed through the fields, and a huge, heavy, clawed hand landed on the gnorc trying and failing to comfort Spyro. Gnicholas barely had time to register Delbin's angry face before the red dragon threw him straight into the playhouse, making it collapse around his limp body.

The only gnorc still standing and not rolling around and screaming bloody murder while on fire, turned and looked at the furious dragon in frozen terror. Darren closed his eyes as Delbin's claws made short work of the green creature.

"This way!" Sparx screamed, and nudged Spyro in the right direction. Yells could be heard on the other side of the walls, and without wasting more time, Delbin grabbed Sandie and Spyro and ran after Garret and Darren, who were already following Sparx back to the tunnel entrance. Leah overtook the others, taking the lead from Sparx.

"Delbin won't fit in the tunnel!" She gasped. "We have to go somewhere else!"

"Follow me!" Delbin declared, turning a corner, and heading towards the woods behind the castle. The dragonlings followed suit, the last tail tip disappearing behind the trees just as the first gnorcs arrived to respond to the chaos.

After several minutes of desperate running, the dragons finally reached a lonely house snuggled between the trees – Delbin's home. The dragon threw open the door, and dragonlings and dragonflies rushed inside. Delbin hurried inside as well, closed the door, and put Spyro and Sandie down on the floor.

For the longest time, the dragonlings and dragonflies stared at Delbin. Delbin stared back, leaning his back against the door like he expected it to be kicked in.

Delbin was the first to break the silence.

"Are... Are you kids okay..?"

With a squeal, Leah jumped forward and wrapped her arms around the dragon. Darren and Sandie carefully stepped closer as well. "Delbin..?" Darren asked, almost afraid to believe the painter really had come back to life. Delbin leaned down and hugged Leah back with a smile.

"Yeah. Yeah I... I'm back."

With a collective roar of joy, the remaining dragonlings ran over to join the hug. After a few moments, everyone backed off again and sat down in a small circle. Delbin looked at Spyro.

"Kid, what did you do? How did you free me?"

Spyro jolted lightly as all eyes were turned to him. He looked down at his hands, voice a lot softer than normally.

"I... I think I send some magic into the statue..." The angry expression on Garret's face wasn't lost on Spyro. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt-"

Delbin cut him off gently. "Spyro, you saved me. I'm free. You might just have discovered how to save the other dragons. Don't be ashamed of that."

The dragonlings and dragonflies looked back to Delbin.

"_Save_ the other dragons?!"

"We can save them? I can have my mum back?"

"Can we go now?"

Delbin raised his hand quickly to get them to quiet down. "Easy... First of all, _you_ kids aren't going out to save _anyone_. That's much too dangerous. Leave it to me. Second of all, it's almost morning – not only must you be tired, the gnorcs are going to wake up soon as well, and they'll definitely be on the lookout after what happened at the playground. Also, Sandie needs some bandages and whatnot – we'll have to stay the night here, and then you're going to tell me where you've all been hiding, okay?"

The dragonlings nodded as Delbin headed into another room to get a first aid kit. About half an hour later, Sandie's tail was wrapped up, and the dragonlings were settling on the pillows and bedding Delbin had dug out. Sparx looked at Spyro's sleeping form on the couch, before flying over to Delbin, who was keeping watch at the door.

"Thank you for saving them." The dragonfly said softly.

"Anybody would've done that." Delbin replied gently. "We have to look out for each other, especially now. How's Spyro holding up? Poor kid was pretty spooked earlier."

"He's sleeping now, so he's doing a lot better than before. He'll be okay in the morning."

"Poor kids," Delbin mumbled sadly. "None of them should be in this situation. What Gnasty and his minions are doing is unforgivable."

"I agree," Sparx nodded. "It's been hell on Earth these last few days. We're glad to have you back."

Delbin smiled. "Get some sleep yourself, Sparx. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

* * *

Gnyla looked upon the scene in front of her and felt the dread and terror threaten to paralyze her.

Three gnorc bodies were laid out on the grass near the playground, all broken and crushed. One was charred and burnt beyond recognition, one was almost cut in half from claws longer than most gnorcs' hands, and while the last was the least maimed, the gnorc who had found him had quickly learned the dead gnorc's back was snapped in half from the impact that had killed him.

Gnyla closed her eyes and shakily prayed for the Forgotten Gods to guide the lost souls to paradise.

"Good lords..." Gnorris mumbled, walking up to the assistant supervisor. "What happened to them?"

Gnyla looked from the charred body to the sliced one, and then to the demolished playhouse nearby. She felt a lump form in her throat.

"...One of the dragons have gotten free. We need to contact the chieftain. Immediately."

* * *

The group was met with cheers and exhilaration when they returned to the caves. Leah had led them to a much larger entrance directly into the cave, which left Delbin with just enough space to fit inside. The poor dragon had curled up as much as he could, to avoid squishing any of the ecstatic dragonlings. Spyro was curled up near him, Sparx once again sitting on his horn.

After satisfying everyone's hunger, the dragons and dragonflies settled down to listen to Delbin.

The adult dragon refused to talk about how it felt to be trapped in crystal, despite endless questions, but claimed it had not been painful. When asked if he knew where Nestor or Darren's mom was, he sadly shook his head and admitted how it was as impossible for him to distinguish between the statues as it was for the dragonlings.

Remorse and a bit of pride crossed Delbin's face when the dragonlings told him how most of the second and third-agers had been captured after mounting a small rebellion. With so many gone, Delbin gently asked the dragonlings how they were making sure their food supplies didn't run out.

When nobody answered, Delbin took matters into his own hands.

After a quick trip back to his house for supplies, Delbin showed the second and third agers, and Spyro, how to lure the sheep out of sight of the gnorcs with some bait. Once the sheep were in a safe location, the dragonlings let loose and chased down as many sheep as they could carry.

Seeing Spyro struggle to keep up with the others, Delbin gently pulled the youngest dragonling aside.

"Hasn't Devlin ever taught you how to charge?" He asked softly, not wanting to embarrass the young dragon.

Sadly, Spyro shook his head, looking down at the grass under his hands.

"Well, I guess I will then. When you run, keep your nose pointed towards the ground and let Sparx guide you. Keep your toes and fingers tucked in and kick off a little harder with your legs. Don't be afraid of accidentally running into buildings at first, your horns will protect you – Just don't run into people!"

Spyro nodded eagerly, and after some less than successful tries, he slowly got the hang of it. At the end of the night, Spyro only hauled one sheep back to the caves, while many of the others had gotten two or three sheep down.

But Spyro was very proud of himself, nonetheless.

As the sun slowly threatened to peek over the horizon, Delbin and the dragonlings were munching away on mutton and starting to settle down to sleep. Spyro was not ready to call it a day though, laying down next to the red dragon's left side.

"I want to help you save the other dragons." He suddenly declared, looking Delbin in the eyes and challenging the older dragon to refuse him. The dragonlings who were not already asleep, looked at the two, quietly watching the discussion.

"Absolutely not. You're far too young, and it is far too dangerous! I'm not going to send you out there just to get caught!"

"And what if _you_ get caught? What then?"

"_Then_ you can start worrying about saving other dragons!"

"That's not good enough!" Spyro smacked his palm against the stony floor. "You can't expect me to just sit around and wait for things to get better – My family's out there too – ALL of our families are out there right now! I can't-"

"You _are_ going to sit here waiting, because you _are not_ going out there, Spyro! End of discussion!"

Before Spyro could respond properly, a bright yellow third-ager named Carlo spoke up softly. "Sir if I may? With all due respect, you are just one dragon. Spyro has already retrieved stolen treasure from the gnorcs on his own, and knowing Spyro, telling him to sit on his hands here would just make him that more likely to go out in protest and get caught in his stupidity."

Carlo held up his hand to silence both Delbin and Spyro's angry protests. "So, sir, if you want us to be safe, teach us how to help. Safely."

"No." Delbin said flatly, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Okay." Leah suddenly added. "That's okay. Who's going on a gem raid with me, right now, in broad daylight?"

Spyro, and several dragonlings who had caught on, raised their hands.

"NO!" Delbin yelled angrily.

"Well, you won't help us, and we're too young and too stupid to not do it." Leah shrugged.

"I- You- This is extortion!"

"Of course." Carlo replied contently.

Delbin stared angrily at the third-ager. Then at the second-ager. Then at Spyro's smug grin.

"... Fine." He muttered angrily, and was rewarded with excited cheering from all around the cave.

* * *

A couple of days later, Darren returned with good news.

The timid dragonling had proven to be an excellent scout, as his easily frightened nature made him very cautious of his surroundings. Out of all the scouts Delbin had trained over the last 48 hours, Darren had been the one that got closest to the statues and the gnorcs without getting seen or caught.

"-And there's no guards near it. It just sits there, near the houses around the tower."

Delbin nodded cautiously. Ancestors knew they could use another adult dragon in their midst, and so far any attempts on the many statues dotting the Artisan greens had been too risky to approach. This was very good news. However...

"How is Delbin gonna get close to it without being seen?" Garret grumbled from his perch. "He's not really invisible!"

As much as the dragonling's constant whining was starting to wear Delbin's patience thin, Garret had a point. Delbin was far too large, and far too visible to leave through the large entrance to the caves, move around the entire castle grounds, and access the statue, without being seen. Which offered a solution Delbin wasn't entirely fond of.

"I can do it." Spyro stepped forward from his spot at Delbin's left. "I already know how to rescue a dragon, and I'm small enough I won't be seen easily."

"Spyro's scales makes him almost black in the night," Sparx added. "And we know those parts of Artisans pretty well. There's a small shortcut through one of the old walls we used to take all the time. If Darren leads us there, we'll be back within a few hours, tops."

Delbin made a face at the idea, but unfortunately, Spyro was right. The purple dragonling and his companion had proven themselves fairly capable these last few days, gathering about twice as much treasure as any of the others – They needed assistance to get out of trouble more often than the others too, however.

"Spyro, Sparx, I'm grateful, but you're still very young, and so is Darren. I'd feel much more at ease if one of the third- or second-agers went."

"The shortcut is hidden," Sparx stated flatly. "And if they can't find it, they'll have to cross past an area where the gnorcs patrol frequently."

Delbin cursed under his breath, but had to accept defeat. "Very well. You leave by nightfall. For now, eat and rest. You got a long day- err, long night, ahead of you."

Silently celebrating their victory, Spyro and Sparx settled for the day with some roasted mutton. When the sun went down, the two dragonlings and their dragonflies left through the tunnel that would take them the closest to the statue.

"Hey, Spyro?" Darren suddenly spoke up as they shuffled through the dark tunnel.

"Yeah?" Spyro asked, focused on not getting his horns stuck on the ceiling again.

"I think you're pretty cool. I'm sorry everyone's always kinda mean to you."

Spyro stopped so suddenly Darren almost walked into him.

"What?!"

"I think you're pretty cool. I want to... I mean... Can we be friends?" The younger dragonling said, somewhat timidly. "I'm sorry we were so mean to you back when we played tag."

Sparx listened speechlessly as the two dragonlings talked it out. He could see Spyro open and close his mouth dumbly a few times before he managed to find his voice.

"I... Uh... Y-yeah. Yeah, we can be friends."

"Thanks!" Darren said happily, and on they went. A smile was plastered across the golden dragonfly's face the whole trip.

After Spyro and Sparx did the same lookout trick they saw Leah do a few nights ago, the quartet snuck into the night near the southern castle walls. They snuck along the walls until they reached a small arch, leading towards the tower and, hopefully, the statue.

"Hey, this isn't well-hidden!" Flicker exclaimed, looking at the arch.

"Nope!" Sparx beamed back. "Come on, let's get going!"

The group skipped through the opening, and sure enough, they could see the faint green glow of the statue, which had been placed right in front of the opening of the main arch through the castle walls.

The dragonlings headed directly towards the statue, when Darren suddenly froze in place and pushed Spyro and himself into some bushes.

"Hey-!" Spyro protested, but Flicker shushed him.

The reason became clear when a group of 4 gnorcs marched through the archway and settled near the statue. Two of them stayed on watch while the other two started walking down the slope towards the tower.

Guards. Spyro cursed quietly.

"What do we do?" Sparx whispered frustratedly.

"We'll have to go back. The mission's a bust." Flicker mumbled, turning to lead Darren back from where they came.

"But we're so close!" Sparx whined lightly.

"Hey Darren, can you distract the gnorcs while I rescue the dragon?" Spyro asked suddenly. Both dragonflies spun around to stare at him.

"What!?" Flicker started, but was cut off by Darren taking a step forward, out of the bushes.

"Sure."

Before Sparx or Flicker could object, the small dragonling bolted past the gnorcs, screaming in fear. All four gnorcs jumped in surprise, then bolted after Darren, yelling for him to stop. Ignoring Flicker giving off a spooked whimper and zipping after Darren, Spyro and Sparx quickly snuck to the glowing statue. Focusing momentarily, Spyro released another burst of magic, and the results were much the same as with Delbin.

The statue shook and crumbled, making Spyro and Sparx step back a bit to avoid getting crushed to death under the rubble. The gnorcs stopped dead in the path, turning to stare in horror – which in turn allowed Darren to disappear behind a corner.

As the gnorcs charged back towards Spyro, a somewhat skinny yellow dragon emerged from the statue, shaking his head confusedly and looking around for his hat and lute, which were buried in the rapidly evaporating rubble.

"Hey!" The small purple dragon at his feet called out. "Watch out!"

Tomas barely had time to react before several angry gnorcs jumped at him, trying to drag the dragon to the ground. Spyro yelped and ran behind Tomas to hide, but a gnorc was upon him quickly.

Seeing the young dragon in danger, Tomas kicked out and successfully sent the gnorc flying – And the dragonfly, but that was an honest accident.

He shook off a few gnorcs and send several more flying with a burst of air. Straightening up, he spread his wings wide to stand protectively in front of the dragonling, whose battered dragonfly had returned to its side.

One of the gnorcs lifted what appeared to be a ram's horn to his lips, and a loud, hollow noise emerged. The air was filled with loud yelling of gnorcs rushing towards their position.

"Well this is some development!" Tomas said to the dragonling. "Uh, don't be afraid!"

"Afraid? Of what!?" Spyro hissed through clenched teeth. "The gnorc army storming towards us to kill us!?"

"Um... Yeah." Tomas mumbled awkwardly, blowing back the charging gnorcs once more. "That."

Despite Tomas' best efforts, the gnorcs kept on, and the dragon was visibly starting to get tired. Sparx jittered in the air, zipping back and forth, searching for an escape route. The tunnel seemed to be the only escape, however, and the grown dragon would never fit through.

"Spyro, we might have to-" Sparx started, but was interrupted by familiar red flames exploding across the night sky, and a big shadow swooping down on the gnorcs.

"Tomas! Grab Spyro and follow me!"

The yellow dragon did as told, snatching Spyro from the ground, then spreading his wings and taking flight as Delbin did.

Delbin fell back to keep the gnorcs off their trail, then directed Tomas towards a nearby forest.

"Now! Down!" Delbin dove down, with Tomas following suit, albeit a bit more clumsily. Spyro closed his eyes as the branches smacked against the dragons' bodies.

"Now, quiet. This way." Delbin, now much more carefully, started heading through the forest, until he found a small river. The red dragon walked into the water and started quickly swimming upstream. As Tomas followed, the dragons soon arrived at a large cliffside where an out-of-breath Darren and a worried looking Leah was waiting for them. Leah turned and pushed some sort of hidden lever, making the rock slowly slide aside to allow the dragons to enter.

A few minutes later, dragons and dragonlings were sitting, a bit closer than what was comfortable, gasping for breath.

"And you were planning on fitting all the dragons in here, _how_ exactly..?" Tomas grumbled.

Delbin groaned, trying to free his left wing from being pinned against the wall, almost knocking Garret off his perch in the attempt. "... I don't know. I didn't plan that far..."

"We'll need a new place." Carlo said from his spot next to Tomas' knee. "We need more space."

"But where would we go, Carlo?" Tomas asked. "Do you know a spot?"

"What about Delbin's place?" Leah suggested. "Can't we fit there?"

Delbin thought for a moment.

"... I suppose that could work. We'll have to wait a night or two though. The gnorcs are far too spooked for anybody to go anywhere right now."

"But if we don't move soon, the gnorcs might set up better guards!" Dewey interjected. "If we go while they're still busy at the tower, we might have our chance now!"

"They're likely in the forest right now – We'd get caught as soon as we left." Tomas noted uneasily.

"Then everyone takes another route, and Tomas and Delbin moves last." Carlo shrugged. "There's only one big exit, so you'll have to be quiet and careful."

"Fine." Delbin grumbled. "Then we better get moving now. Leah, you're leading a group of 5 to the house. Then you come back and get another group. When the first group has left, I'll create a distraction elsewhere. If I make it back intact, I'll meet you at the house before dawn. Now go!"

* * *

The whole operation took 6 hours.

With no more than 4 new dragonlings being moved every time Leah came back, in addition to Leah having to sneak back between each move, progress was frustratingly slow.

After enough whining, Delbin finally gave in and let Carlo lead a second group interchangeably. Things sped up, but quickly proved to have a fault.

With so many dragonlings on the move, it was only a matter of time before a group was noticed. As it happened, Carlo's third group was stumbled upon by a gnorc as they were nearing the woods.

Keith's quick instincts saved the day, however, as the third-ager grabbed the gnorc in his jaws and silenced her before she could alert anyone else. It left the present first-agers somewhat shaken, but safe.

By the time everyone had made it to Delbin's house, it was only a few more hours before sunrise. An hour and a half later, an exhausted and tired Delbin finally made it to the house after several detours to shake off his pursuers. The poor dragon fell asleep before even getting something to eat, snoring the day away on the floor.

Tomas shook his head softly, looking at the other dragon's sleeping form. He sat down in the middle of the living room, lute in hand, and corrected the strings.

As morning neared, soft music echoed in the little house, lulling the many dragonlings to sleep one by one.

* * *

And that was chapter 2.

As always, let me know what you thought or if you have any questions. I'll see you all, next week!


	4. Chapter 3: Urgency

Happy holidays!

Sorry for the slight delay everyone - New years and birthday left me somewhat tired!

But here we are! Chapter 3!

I have, due to Christmas and such, not had much time to write - there will absolutely be a chapter next week, but after that there will be a small break so that I can get my buffer updated.

* * *

**Chapter 3, Urgency**

The atmosphere of the throne room was tense at best.

Gnapier shook in his spot, cradling his hard-hat between his hands. All eyes in the room was on him, Gnasty's glare digging holes in his soul. Out of all the people present, only Jacques seemed to be in a good mood.

"S-so we don't k-know how they e-escaped, Sir. B-but one of the dragons is loose."

There were many, many places the supervisor could've imagined he'd much rather be. His job was supposed to be easy – Just tell the assistant supervisor what needed to be done, kick back while she directed the others, and enjoy some good mead. Gnapier was not a soldier – Neither dealing with dragons OR reporting bad news the chieftain were things he thought he was signing up for back at the employment camp.

Gnasty's heavy fingers drummed against the wooden armrest of his throne, brow pulled down over his nose. The rest of the people present held their breath as they awaited the chieftain's decision. Eventually Gnasty looked up.

"Delay the take-over of Magic Crafters. I want all available military units moved to Artisans. Tell Toasty to up the security and keep and eye out. Gnapier." The smaller gnorc jumped lightly. "Up your own security. Nobody heads out on their own, kids are under supervision at all times, and get the Artisan Keeper moved to Gnorc Gnexus STAT. Ration the mead. Other than that, there's nothing we can do but ride out the storm and hope for the best. You're dismissed."

Gnapier nodded thankfully and scurried out of the room. It wouldn't be until he was back in Artisans the chieftain's orders fully registered.

Rationing the mead was gonna raise hell.

* * *

An owl cried somewhere in the twilight as a small shadow struggled to stay airborne long enough to reach the platform ahead of him. Small claws dug into the brickwork, and the dragonling scrambled to get up.

As his feet slipped and his hands lost their grip, Spyro tumbled backwards and down for a few milliseconds before Tomas caught him out of the air.

"You're doing great! Keep it up and you'll master the art of gliding in no time!" The elder enthused happily. "A little more work into keeping your wings straight, and you'll be there!"

Spyro nodded eagerly as Tomas placed him back on the tower for another glide. The duo had left Delbin's house after Spyro had whined to Tomas after watching a group of second- and third-agers glide from tree to tree. Most dragonlings learned how to glide and fly around the age of 10 – 11, but Spyro's wings hadn't quite grown big enough.

Devlin was a short-wing – And while Spyro had continuously been reassured that short wings at his age wasn't that uncommon, the dragonling remained worried he might've inherited that trait.

So here they were, hiding out in the hills near the tower and practicing Spyro's gliding. With Tomas' guidance and Sparx' encouragement, Spyro had, surprisingly, proven to be a quick learner. Turns out he did better at physical education than math and language classes.

Go figure.

Readying himself for another attempt at reaching the flat roof of the next tower, Spyro spread his wings as wide as they would go, bend his knees, and jumped off the tower, using his tail to balance in the air like Tomas' taught him.

This time, the little dragon managed to get a good hold of the roof with his hands, getting one leg up as well. After some brief struggling, Spyro pulled himself onto to roof to the cheer and applause of Tomas and Sparx. The dragonfly did a few loops around his head.

"Look at you! Short-wing, my tail end, you'll be flying in no time at all!" Sparx acclaimed, laughing as Spyro struck a proud pose.

"Well done, young dragon!" Tomas added. "You're a fast learner!"

"Yeah, well, I had a good teacher- Hold that thought." Spyro had noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and turning his head to the left, he spotted a group of three gnorcs dragging a bag alongside them. "... Gnorcs. Let's get them!"

"Now hold on," Tomas said hesitantly. "Simply jumping the creatures with no plan or idea might be a bad thing. How about we-"

"No time. Follow my lead!" Spyro jumped off the roof, spreading his wings to glide towards the little group, much to the distress of the bard.

The gnorc holding the bag barely had time to register the small shadow above her before Spyro closed his wings and aimed his elbow downwards.

"_OW!_" Gnana fell down as the dragonling's joint hit her in the neck. Her companions turned around wide-eyed, staring in disbelief as the purple dragonling bit and scratched at Gnana.

"Help me, you idiots!" She hissed, snapping them out of it and getting them to grab at Spyro's struggling form. All three gnorcs froze when a much larger shadow loomed over them, Gnash letting out a tiny squeak as Tomas grabbed him and threw him across the field. The other two ran for their lives as the bard unfolded his wings, but was still swept away by the powerful gust of air he released.

"Spyro, are you alright!?" Tomas cried, only to see Spyro gleefully get up from the ground and grab the bag of gems.

"Better than ever! Let's go back to the others, it should be lunchtime soon!"

Looking after the dragonling and his laughing dragonfly happily skipping back towards the forest, Tomas shook his head exasperatedly and let out a very, very tired sigh.

* * *

"What were you thinking!?"

Tomas held up his hands helplessly.

"I didn't- He just ran off-"

"Damn right you weren't thinking! He could've gotten hurt! Looking after the dragonlings is our responsibility, Tomas!"

As Delbin continued yapping at the poor bard, Spyro and the others had gathered all the recovered treasure on the floor and were now counting out the value.

"45, 46, 47, 48... I got 48 green gems over here!"

"I got 37 red ones!"

"I got 52 reds."

"Wait, wait, one at a time..." Mariel grumbled, scratching out her notes and starting over. "So you had 48 green ones..."

"And furthermore, sneaking off like that in the first place has to be the most irresponsible thing to do! Nobody knew where you two had gone! Not only did you leave me behind with all the dragonlings by myself, what if we had gone looking for you?" Delbin threw his arms in the air.

"I-"

"I got 12 blue ones."

"That's 5 times 12... Plus 175..."

"This one's pink."

"Everything could've been lost! And for what, a few gems!?"

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it, Tomas!"

"993 treasure!" Mariel declared. Tilly pushed a blue gem towards her. "... 998 treasure."

"Cool!" Leah exclaimed.

"That's like, a lot, right?" Sandie asked.

"Yeah! That'll show those gnorcs!" Spyro beamed. "We did good, guys!"

The gathered dragonlings and dragonflies cheered.

"Hey, Jannie's back!" Viridian exclaimed, zipping around her dragonling's head.

And indeed, Rose's gentle light shone in the tunnel, as the scout and her dragonfly made their way back to the others.

After the general greeting and pleasantries were exchanged ("We got almost a thousand gems now!"), the brown third-ager sat down to report. "I found a statue. It's guarded, but it's surrounded by walls and forest. And it's not far. If we go through the forest, we can get there unseen."

Discussion broke out amongst the dragonlings. Who were gonna go? How would they get past the guards? Who was in the statue? Was anybody else hungry?

Sparx glanced at the arguing dragons. "If we wanna save that dragon anytime this month, I suggest we go now, without telling Delbin. If we hesitate, they might move the statue or get more security."

Leah nodded while munching on a bit of mutton. "Agreed. Let's go sooner rather than later."

"But who's going?" Silk asked.

"I can do it." Leah said.

"Me!" Spyro exclaimed.

"I'll go, you'll need a guide anyway." Jannie said.

"I'll go!" Spyro beamed.

"I wanna go too! I wanna try saving someone!" Mariel grinned.

"Spyro!" Spyro said, hopping up and down.

Leah rolled her eyes at the younger dragon's antics.

"I guess that makes four. Me, Jannie, Mariel-"

"And Spyro!"

"And Spyro. Now, come on, let's go!"

The newly formed group of dragons and dragonflies snuck out through the tunnel while the others waved them goodbye.

A few moments after the last tail finally made it out of the tunnel and into the forest, Delbin turned from the dejected Tomas. "Sorry about that kids- Wait... Is someone missing?"

"Yeah, Spyro and Leah and Mariel and Jannie went out to save a dragon!"

"WHAT!?"

* * *

"Woah, that's a lot of gnorcs!"

Leah nodded lightly, making sure to hide Dewey and the other dragonflies' glow under her wings. "Yeah. How do we get past them?"

At least seven gnorcs were surrounding the statue, armed with a variety of nets and simple clubs, all looking uncomfortable and uncertain with their assigned duty. One of them shuffled, stretching his legs one by one and sighing. Another scratched his flabby neck, leaning on the large stone dragon head that marked the entrance to the old dragon vault. It was currently closed.

"We need them lured away." Dewey mused. "But how?"

"What if we tried to rescue the dragon?" Mariel offered.

"... Genius plan." Sparx deadpanned. "Let's save the dragon. You wanna go first?"

"No, I mean, like, what if we acted like we were trying to save the dragon in full view of them – and then they chase us, and one could've hidden away, and then save the dragon while we were keeping them busy?"

"... Oh."

"But who does the distracting and who does the saving?" Rose asked from under Leah's wing.

"Spyro's done the saving bit before – he knows exactly how it's done already." Dewey answered. "If he does the-"

"Ow!"

"Oops! Sorry Sparx. If Spyro does the saving, there's no risk something goes wrong about that part. So I think Spyro should be doing that."

"Good plan! I like it!" Spyro extolled, tail wagging.

"Then it's settled!" Leah concluded. "Spyro, stay here while we do our part."

Happily obeying, Spyro and Sparx sat back while the others snuck a little bit to the left before suddenly hopping out of the bushes and circling the gnorcs, wings spread out.

When the gnorcs got their bearings, they picked up their weapons and formed a protective circle around the statue. One gnorc brought a horn to his lips, but was caught off guard by Dewey ramming into his forehead, and Leah jumping forward and snatching the horn from his hands.

"Yoink!"

Startled and panicked, the gnorc left his spot to chase the plum dragonling, despite his comrades yelling for him to stay. With the circle weakened, Mariel made a jump for the statue, but was smacked across the shoulder with a club, rolling a bit away before she got back to her feet.

The was a loud crackle, and Mariel and Leah tasted metal. The gnorcs still in the circle jumped in unison, one squealing in shock and pain, when electric shock rapidly moved from gnorc to gnorc. Jannie flapped her wings, preparing for another burst, but had to jump away and get some distance when the remaining gnorcs broke formation to chase after her and the other dragonlings.

As the game of cat and mouse unfolded, Spyro sauntered carefreely through the trees, and finally into the open land between them and the statue. Sparx headbutted him gently in the back of his head to urge him to hurry up, but Spyro was having a great bit of fun watching the scene. After a sharp angry hiss from the dragonfly, the young dragon gave in and skipped to the statue.

The gnorcs froze in place when a crackling sound that was rapidly becoming familiar to Spyro, filled the small meadow. One gnorc made a run for it, but was tackled by Mariel as she took revenge for being smacked with the club.

A large, plump form materialized within the light coming from the statue, and soon enough, Spyro could recognize Argus's round face.

The newly freed dragon wasted no time turning on the gnorcs and letting loose a blast of hot flames. The gnorcs screamed and tried to run, but the dragon was faster. Within moments, six gnorcs laid motionless in the grass, a foul smell filling the air. Argus turned to the dragonlings.

"Is anybody hurt? No? Good! Now let's get out of here before more arrive. Lead the way to your base of operations."

Spyro opened his mouth to argue, but Argus made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "No, Spyro, no time for idle chatter, time is of the essence!"

"Oh, well we just thought you might want to know Mariel got smacked with a club earlier. Sorry to bother you, your highness." Sparx sneered.

"Oh, uh... Are you alright my dear?" Argus kneeled down to check on the dragonling. Fortunately, the strike had been a little off aim, and the bruise was minor. With that out of the way, the dragonlings led Argus into the forest and back towards Delbin's house.

"Putrid branches!" Argus grumbled, as foliage blocked his path for the umpteenth time. "I can't believe we have to shuffle through the backwoods like criminals! I won't stand for it! Where is Nestor? I demand-"

"Nestor's still a statue, Argus." Dewey muttered.

"_What!?_ This can't be right! Who've been leading you, protecting you!?"

"Delbin, mostly. Tomas' free too though."

"Before that we just took care of ourselves."

"This is horrible!" Argus exclaimed, and was promptly shushed. "This is an insult to all of dragonkin! Gnasty Gnorc and his wretched minions will _pay _for this!"

"Yeah, yeah, we're working on that, just _be quiet!_" Sparx hissed. "Getting caught won't help anyone either!"

Argus grumbled, but at least he quieted down. The rest of the journey was completed in silence.

* * *

"And if you ever sneak away like that again, I'll personally tie you all to the sink and break all your legs! Have I made myself clear!?"

Leah, Jannie, Spyro, and Mariel nodded solemnly while their dragonflies grumbled. Delbin finally turned from the poor dragonlings and looked at Argus.

"Regardless, I'm glad to have you back. Although it's getting fairly crowded in here. How are you holding up?"

Argus huffed, puffing himself up while munching on some sort of fruit he insisted tasted excellently. Nobody else was about to deal with the upset stomach that probably came with it, however.

"I'm doing perfectly fine, thank you Delbin. Might I inquire, you mentioned that the little ones have been hiding out in the old safety measure tunnels in the rockface surrounding Artisans?"

Delbin blinked. "Uh... Yes? I think?"

"Then I might suggest we move the youth back there, and keep your residence as the base of operations for the adults? More dragonkin should be joining us soon, and I do not wish for us all to be crowded together in this manner while we plan."

"That's... Probably a good idea." Delbin turned to the dragonlings resting, standing, or sitting on every available surface. "Jacob, Leah, and Ebony, I want you three to function as communication back and forth between here and the tunnels. For now, head back to the tunnels. Same system as last time, with Keith and Leah leading two teams back and forth. Go through the woods as much as possible. Everyone, get ready to go."

Spyro took a step forward to join Leah's group, but was stopped by Delbin blocking his path with his tail.

"_Not_ you. I don't trust you two not to sneak off and do something stupid, so you're staying here where I can keep an eye on you!"

"But-!"

"_No_ Spyro!"

The purple dragonling sat down with a grumpy expression, Sparx grumbling some not-so-nice words so quietly Spyro couldn't quite make them out.

As the other dragonlings slowly cleared out, group by group, Spyro settled down on a countertop next to Tomas, as the dragons sat down around Delbin's dinner table. Argus cleared his throat in his personal, self-important way, and looked at Delbin.

"So, far as I can tell, you were rescued first. I couldn't help but notice it was the young ones who freed me as well. I trust you were present to rescue Tomas yourself?"

Delbin rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm afraid not. I'm too visible out in the open, so it's been Spyro and some of the others every time. We've-"

"_Spyro?_" Argus cried.

"Yes, Spyro." Tomas grumbled from his chair. "Kid's been the one to free all of us, and has done a tremendous job gathering gems. We literally wouldn't be sitting here right now if not for him."

Argus shook his head and looked empathically at the purple dragonling, who was defiantly staring back.

"You poor thing..! That must've been so hard for you! Spyro, you deserve all the rest you can get!"

"But I want to help-!" Spyro tried, but Argus cut him off.

"Nonsense. You've done far more than what should be asked of someone your age! You just sit back on your posterior and relax – We'll take care of this, don't you worry!"

"If I may-" Tomas tried.

"Argus has a point, Spyro." Delbin said carefully. "We're three grown dragons now – We should be able to handle things on our own. There's absolutely no need for you kids to put yourselves in danger anymore."

Spyro stomped his palm on the counter, and Sparx buzzed angrily next to his ear.

"Please..!" Tomas finally managed to cut in. "Spyro and the others have done a very good job so far. Sure, there's the ever-present risk of them getting kidnapped and sailed away to fates unknown, or getting hurt or potentially even brutally killed as the gnorcs inevitably grow more frustrated and violent, but their work may be essential to furthering our agenda!"

The table was quiet for a good few moments.

"... Tomas... Makes a very good point." Delbin said slowly. Argus nodded softly.

"Indeed!" Tomas exclaimed proudly. "We simply can't be without-"

"No dragonlings are leaving the tunnels until we've liberated all of Artisans. It's simply too dangerous." Delbin concluded. Tomas smile fell.

"... Huh?"

Spyro smacked his face into the table.

"To change the subject," Argus started again. "I feel like I must inform you of the whole situation with Toasty-"

Delbin made a face. "Argus, with all due respect, I don't want to hear about your past 'adventures', not to mention there are children present-!"

"_No!"_ Argus cried angrily. "I have not- Toasty is- Damn it all, Delbin!"

He collected himself for a moment and tried anew. "Toasty is one of Gnasty Gnorc's minions. He leads the gnorcs present in Artisans, and potentially some of his own men. Holed himself up somewhere, although I am not sure where exactly. But he remains a major player in this whole situation..."

Argus turned and looked at Spyro's interested expression.

"Oh my, I'm sorry Spyro. This might be a little too much for you. Would you prefer we waited with this talk until you've gone to bed?"

Furiously, Spyro stood from his spot, leapt off the counter, and stormed out the door and into the woods.

"Spyro, don't go too far away!" Delbin called after him. As the dragonling's tail disappeared behind the doorframe, the red dragon turned back to the food critic. "That was really unnecessary."

Argus huffed. "He's just a child! Regardless of this situation, a first-ager shouldn't be exposed to the horrible reality of war!"

"He's 12!" Delbin exclaimed. "He's more than old enough to hear about some 'scary guy'!"

"He shouldn't be treated any different from the others just because he hatched early!"

"Look you-! Oh, never mind, you're insufferable sometimes, Argus! I'm gonna go talk him down before he does stupid."

Delbin started getting up from his chair, but Tomas cut him off.

"N-no need, Delbin. I'll do it. I'm not much use planning and scheming the downfall of our settlers anyway. Just stay here."

Delbin hesitated but nodded. "You're probably right. Be careful, Tomas, he can be quite temperamental sometimes."

Tomas nodded and scurried out the door after the dragonling. Spyro had not gone too far, fortunately, having crawled onto the stub of a felled tree where he now was sitting and hanging his head. Tomas gave him a pitying look before slowly walking up to the dejected dragon.

"Spy-"

"Mr. Tomas?"

The bard was caught a little off guard by Darren suddenly poking his head out of the bushes. By the ancestors, the little dragon was indeed good at remaining unseen!

"Why hello there, Darren, what news do you bring?"

"I found Nestor."

"Oh that's- Excuse me, come again?"

"I found Nestor's statue! I heard some of them talk about how Gnasty Gnorc wants it moved to the gnorcs' place for safety, and they're packing down the statue right now! It'll be gone really soon!"

"Oh my-!" Tomas covered his mouth with his hands. "We'll have to tell Delbin and Argus right away- Oh for love of all music heavenly, Argus will have the whole thing delayed if we- Uh... Spyro!"

Tomas ran up to the young dragon deep in angry conversation with his dragonfly, catching them both fairly off guard.

"We'll have to hurry! Time is of the essence! Come with me!"

"What?" Spyro looked absolutely confused, not having overheard the news. "Where are we going?"

"No time to explain!" And with that, Tomas grabbed the little dragon and shoved him into his satchel, ignoring Spyro's startled yelp and Sparx' outcry.

"Lead the way!" He quickly whispered to Darren and Flicker before following the dragonling into the woods.

* * *

About a dozen gnorcs were busy tying tarps and rope around the statue, placing logs to pull it to the coast, where a large ship awaited it. All seemed grumpy and unhappy with something, growling and complaining to a gnorc wearing a hard-hat. Said hard-hat wearing gnorc seemed to be trying to run the operation, but was not finding much cooperation from his workers.

"I wonder what they're so upset about?" Tomas mused.

Spyro honestly didn't care. Tomas and Darren had filled him in on the way, and after several long minutes of being stuffed in a bag full of books and manuscripts and quills and ink, he was finally freed and placed back on his own feet.

The duo was now pressed into the grass, watching the scene from a small alley Tomas had managed to wriggle himself into. Darren was curled up a little away, Flicker having suggested that Darren kept watch. Both to warn Tomas and Spyro in case they were discovered, and to have someone to run back and tell Delbin and Argus if the worst were to happen.

"How do you propose we free our marvelous keeper?" Tomas whispered. Spyro thought for a moment.

"One could distract them, while the other sneaks closer?"

"There are too many of them." Sparx pointed out.

"Perhaps if I flew from above and dropped you right onto the statue, while blowing the gnorcs away with the prowess of my wings?"

"You'd get shot down before you got anywhere near the statue, and unless you flew ridiculously close to the ground, Spyro would break every bone in his body landing on and falling off the statue."

"Um... Backup?"

"Would take too long."

"I could throw Spyro there, with my air blast!"

"Distance." Sparx countered flatly.

"Hmph."

The trio sat in silence for a bit, watching the gnorcs quietly.

"Surprise attack. We storm them." Spyro said suddenly.

"That's idiotic-" Sparx started, but was cut off by Tomas.

"We storm them. Ready?"

"Wait, what-!?" Sparx tried, but was once more ignored.

"Ready."

And with a joined roar, Spyro and Tomas stormed forward, catching the gnorcs entirely off guard. Sparx jittered in the air, spluttering, but only for a few moments before he zipped to Spyro's side, aiding him, and screaming various profanity at him at the same time.

While Tomas smacked the gnorcs with his tail, blew them away with his wings, and held them away with his teeth and claws, Spyro and Sparx focused on getting closer to Nestor's statue. However, the gnorcs saw through the plan, and focused their attention on keeping Spyro from reaching his goal. The little dragon growled in frustration.

"Tomas, I can't get close!"

After flattening some of the gnorcs with a roll, Tomas grabbed Spyro around his waist and threw him straight across the field towards the statue, successfully hitting a large gnorc in the belly and knocking him over. Sparx would later refer to this as "the moment Tomas lost his mind and yeeted a child at the enemy."

Spyro scrambled to get off the winded gnorc, digging his claws into the creature's clothes and belly before managing to jump off of him and skip out of reach of the next gnorc.

Another gnorc jumped at him, and would've landed on Spyro if the dragonling hadn't rolled out of the way at the last second. Still, he felt clammy hands grab his tail, and turned with a hiss to dig his teeth into the offending gnorc.

The gnorc yelped in pain and started wriggling to get his cheek out of Spyro's jaw, but refused to let go of his tail. Tomas looked up just in time to see three gnorcs move towards the trapped dragonling, and immediately sent an air blast their way, sending gnorcs and dragon rolling around in the grass.

Dizzily, Spyro stumbled back to his feet, Sparx zipping back and forth over his head. He glanced at the statue, trying to determine the distance, and found his path blocked by a burly looking gnorc armed with a tarp she'd taken from the statue. A hiss build in his throat as she took a step towards him, but then she suddenly tumbled out of the way as Tomas sent out yet another blast of air.

Sparx jittered nervously in the air.

In spite of Spyro and Tomas' best efforts, the gnorcs were holding their ground. Even as Spyro sped towards Nestor, another gnorc jumped forward to fend him off, and the duo were forced to retreat once more.

The dragonfly turned his head to see how Tomas was faring, and felt his tiny heart sink.

The dragon was getting tired. The artisan dragons were painters, artists, writers, and composers, not fighters, and it showed. Tomas was gasping for air, wobbling on his feet, and his air blasts were losing power. The gnorcs saw their chance, and about eight gnorcs jumped the exhausted dragon at the same time, knocking him over and hammering away on his head with their clubs. Sparx caught a glimpse of Darren's tail zipping away.

As most of the gnorcs focused on securing the unconscious dragon, one ran off to alert the others. Two were motionless on the ground, and the final gnorc still standing started walking towards Spyro with a tarp.

The dragonling skittered around, but the gnorc had cornered him decently. As she held up the tarp to throw it over him, panic set in and deep instinct took over.

Heat built in his belly. Smoke tickled his nostrils. His jaws opened almost by themselves, and Spyro felt something click in the top of his mouth. And then...

The gnorc was on fire. She screamed and flailed, dropping the tarp to slap herself all over, in an attempt to put out the fire eating away at her. The other gnorcs stopped tying Tomas in ropes to see what was going on.

For a short second, Spyro was frozen in place, trying to understand what he just did. Then he jumped past the gnorc and ran to the statue faster than he'd ever ran before. Too late, the gnorcs got their bearings and moved towards the dragonling. Spyro reached the statue just as gnorc reinforcements started arriving from the camp.

A familiar feeling of released magical energy, a welcomed sound of the statue crumbling and then...

The earth shot up around Spyro and shot outwards, knocking the gnorcs over and halfway burying one of them. Long teeth snapped, and something red and green landed a good few meters away, a red hard-hat rolling a bit away before tipping onto its top.

Nestor spread his wings and took flight, sending yet another earth-shaking tremor at the approaching gnorcs.

"There are too many of them!" Sparx cried. "We have to go!"

"What about Tomas!?" Spyro cried back. "We can't leave him!"

"We don't have a choice. Hold on." Nestor dropped from the air, wings pointing upwards, grabbed Spyro as he landed, kicked off with his feet, flapped his wings, and took off again, all in one fluid motion. The dragon shot upwards, flying so high that Spyro started shivering in the cold, and suddenly changed direction to disappear into the wood opposite of Delbin's house and the direction Darren fled in.

"Tomas!" Spyro called, but Nestor shushed him quickly.

The dragonling struggled, even as Nestor landed and trekked further into the woods. Sparx caught up, using his connection to Spyro to quickly locate his charge, silently settling on Spyro's left horn and trying to catch his breath.

After what felt like an eternity, Nestor slipped out of the forest and back into the old town, kicking a backdoor open after checking the surroundings for gnorcs, and hurried inside. Finally, he set down the distraught dragonling.

"Tomas-" Spyro started, but Nestor shook his head.

"We can't help him if we're caught. His best chance is us regrouping and mounting a rescue mission later on. So dry your tears,"

Nestor knelt down and placed a hand on Spyro's trembling shoulder. The green dragon's eyes held a serious look.

"-And tell me everything, from the beginning."

* * *

Leave a review and let me know what you think!

\- BW


	5. Chapter 4: Next Step

Hello everyone, and sorry for the short delay - I completely forgot to post this chapter.

This will be the last posted chapter for a little while, while I work on my buffer. My exam for this semester is coming up, so it will suffer some delay.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you'll all enjoy this final part of the Artisans storyline.

* * *

"-And now we're here." Spyro concluded with his head down.

Nestor, now resting in a reclining chair he'd carried over from another room, tapped his thumbs together, thinking.

"So Delbin and Argus are freed and at Delbin's residence. The remaining dragonlings, about 25 – 30, are in the old security tunnels, or hiding out around Artisans. Tomas has been taken captive. Most second- and third-agers have been taken captive as well. No other dragons have been freed?"

"No," Spyro admitted sadly. "I am... I am so sorry about Tomas. It's my fault. We went in stupidly, and they took us down. And now he's gone. I-"

Nestor quickly held up a hand to stop the sobbing dragonling. "No use in lamenting it. Best we can do to honor his sacrifice is to move on and fight harder against Gnasty's forces. Hm... You said it has been about a week since you freed Delbin..?"

Sparx shrugged. "Give or take."

"And only three other dragons have been freed since, all by you, and mostly without his involvement. I admire Delbin's sense for safety, but I do wish he'd be more adamant about making a difference. You've done good work you two. You can righteously be proud of yourselves."

Spyro looked up in surprise, blinking away a few tears. "Really?"

"Really. You've done far more than what should be expected of someone your age. Your Peace Keeper blood truly shines through sometimes. And if I know you right, you will not be satisfied with sitting back now. The Ancestors knows we can use all the help we can get now, anyway."

Nestor got up and started pacing back and forth, hands folded behind his back.

"As much as I wish to go see Delbin and Argus immediately, it's far too risky to go out while they're searching for us. We'll have to stay here until nightfall, possibly longer. Let's see if we can find anything to eat in the kitchen."

A brief search resulted in a few slabs of salted mutton, which both Spyro and Nestor enjoyed greatly. Sparx, meanwhile, munched happily on a butterfly he found fluttering around the window.

As the three of them startled to settle down, Nestor noticed an odd sound coming from Spyro. Turning his head quietly, his eyebrow rose lightly when he noticed small tongues of flame leaving Spyro's mouth as the dragonling kept trying to increase their strength.

"When did you learn to breathe fire?"

Spyro jolted lightly and snapped his jaw shut before looking up. "Um... When we rescued you. I'm sorry, I won't-"

"No, no, keep on practicing. Your elemental powers are presenting themselves a little early, but that's only good considering the circumstances. I'm not surprised it's fire."

"Huh?" Spyro looked confused. "Why not?"

Nestor lifted an eyebrow again. "What do you mean, 'why not'? Didn't Devlin teach you about elemental powers and natural elements..?"

Spyro looked confused.

Nestor groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Devlin, for the love of-! I guess I'll have to, then. When this is all over, I'll be having a serious talk with your dad."

Spyro and Sparx shuffled closer, putting all their attention on the keeper. Nestor gathered his thoughts for a moment before starting.

"All living, sapient-"

"Sapient?" Spyro repeated.

"Conscious. Feeling, thinking, talking. Dragons, gnorcs, the balloonists."

"Ah!" Spyro nodded. Nestor started again.

"All sapient creatures possess a natural element. They're born with this element, and inherits it from their parents, although elements sometimes skip a few generations. Like how you inherited your fire element from both Devlin and Candace, who also express that element. Most people's personalities reflect somewhat on their element, meaning a person with the fire element are more likely to be passionate and hot-headed, while a person of the ice element is better at keeping their emotions in check, but may have a harder time expressing themselves."

"How many elements are there?" Spyro asked, wide-eyed.

"Ten. And a handful of combination elements. But mostly, people have one of the ten. In dragons, the fire element is the most common, although many in some realms have more of ice or air."

"So, you only have one element? Like, I can't learn electric breath because I have fire breath?"

"Exactly. Despite what some legends try to tell you, naturally, a dragon can only use the elemental power of their natural element. You can of course learn spells of other elements, but your own will always come easiest to you."

Spyro thought for a moment.

"Tomas used like, an air blast before..? Was his element air?"

Nestor nodded. "Yes. Dragons with the air element learn to fly earlier, but that wing blast is what they get instead of things like fire breath or electric breath."

"What about you?"

Nestor blinked. "Me? You saw that. Those tremors, remember?"

"So, you're... Stone element?"

"Earth. But it's sort of the same thing I suppose. I can send little bursts of energy through the ground."

"Those tremors weren't 'little'!" Sparx grumbled.

"Those tremors were actual spells. My natural tremors are a lot softer, although they're stronger than when I first got them. But for now, I think that's enough. Get some sleep you two, we got some long days ahead of us."

* * *

As Spyro and Sparx slept, curled up on a pillow in the cupboard (Spyro had complained about not being able to sleep in the daylit room), Nestor sat leaned back in the reclining chair, and tapping his thumbs together.

If they were to have any hope fighting back the gnorc forces, they were going to need more dragons freed. That meant getting the most out of what they had, and what they had was Delbin, Argus, Nestor himself, Spyro, and the other dragonlings. While he knew Delbin and Argus were likely to object, Nestor felt their best course of action was using the dragonlings to their fullest potential.

That meant the dragonlings would be more at risk, but if they freed enough dragons, travelling the open land would soon become far safer, and they could stop having to operate at night. Delbin was a good man, but what he had in physical strength and his heart, he unfortunately lacked in speed and finesse. Meaning that Nestor would have to rely on Argus at first.

... Honestly that would work out fine. Despite his better-than-you attitude and general lack of tact, Argus was a surprisingly capable dragon when he dropped the sass and got himself in gear. Meanwhile, Delbin's protective nature would be perfect for keeping the dragonlings organized.

Once the skies were open again, Delbin could be moved towards freeing dragons and fighting gnorcs.

However, there were still one person Nestor needed to assign to a job.

The Artisan Keeper turned his head and glanced at the sleeping bodies a few meters away. Spyro was passionate like the fire that burned in his core, reckless, and impatient. So far, his defiance to authority and determination to fight against the gnorcs been a... Questionable asset.

No doubt the boy had done great work, freeing a grand total of 4 dragons so far, and having originally started the dragonlings on their resistance, but he'd also caused Tomas to get caught (although Nestor had a feeling Tomas was sort of responsible for that as well), and Spyro's recount of how he initially freed Tomas told Nestor that he wasn't quite that good at considering the potential consequences of his actions.

Meaning, if Spyro were left to his own devices, something was bound to go wrong.

Tilting his head lightly, Nestor pondered what to do with the young dragon.

* * *

Delbin could barely believe his eyes when Nestor and Spyro suddenly appeared at his door.

After the initial shock wore off, the two dragons were ushered inside quickly. Argus' reaction was just as surprised, seeing as how last night Darren came running, tail between his legs, claiming Spyro and Tomas got caught by gnorcs and that Nestor had been kidnapped.

And yet, here they were, safe and sound – Sans Tomas.

When listening to Spyro's recount of what happened since he, Tomas, and Darren left Delbin's house, Delbin's shoulders and hands were shaking with barely restrained fury, while Argus gave off little scoffs and gasps every time Spyro retold a stupid decision.

As Spyro once again finished his tale, small details added by Sparx, Delbin stood from the table so abruptly his chair fell over with a clang.

"Do you have _any_ idea what you've done!? Do you have **any** idea how dangerous this was? _**Any idea at all!?**_"

Spyro sniffled, Sparx hiding behind his left horn. Delbin wasn't finished.

"Tomas is gone, possibly dead, and you easily could've been too. Darren could've been taken. Do you _ever_ think anything through at all!? We're in the middle of a _war_ and you go out, prancing about in the middle of everything, on some sort of great, imaginary adventure where you're the hero and can save everyone! _Well you didn't save Tomas!_ I'm not saying I don't blame Tomas for being part of this very poor decision making, but I would _expect_ that you, child or not, knew better than to charge _a dozen armed gnorcs_ this recklessly! And _especially __**you**__ Sparx_!"

Sparx cowered further behind his sobbing dragonling.

"Furthermore-"

"That's _enough_ Delbin!"

Delbin shut his jaw and faltered a little bit at Nestor's icy tone. The large dragon hesitated, as if he was going to keep on, but the look in the Keeper's eyes made him slowly slide back down in his chair – and promptly fall on his rear, as his chair was tipped over.

Nestor waited until Delbin had gotten his chair back up and was sitting in it, eyes diverted, before he continued.

"As you just said, Spyro is a child. If anybody's at fault here, it's Tomas for letting this happen, and potentially _you_ for not wondering why neither of them came back after leaving! I'm disappointed in you, Delbin – You're better than this."

Seeing as neither Delbin or Argus were gonna argue, Nestor's posture calmed visibly.

"Spyro has done a remarkable job so far. Only on the verge of his second dragon-age, and he alone managed to not only discover how to, but also free all of us, and Tomas. Reckless or not, I've yet to meet any dragonling showing this level of resourcefulness and determination at such a young age."

Spyro had stopped sobbing, and was listening with wide, teary eyes. He'd never before been _praised_ for his reckless behavior, and by Nestor himself, no less! Nestor went on.

"Out of all of us present here, Spyro and Sparx have likely done the most to fight against Gnasty's forces. In all honesty, we should be following his example, not berating him for trying. Which brings me to the next issue."

Nestor straightened up a bit, and stopped glaring at Delbin.

"It's high about time we mount a counter-attack."

"With all due respect, Sire-" Argus started carefully, fidgeting lightly in his seat. "We are just three adults and a couple dozen youths. As much as I'd love nothing more than to see Gnasty Gnorc and his wretched kin grovel at our feet, I fear that our prowess alone may not prove enough to truly fight off our adversaries."

"Argus makes a good point," Delbin mumbled, still looking at the table. "We're too few."

"Exactly. Which is why we need to free the remaining dragons, tonight." Nestor paused briefly for impact. "What we need now, is a chain reaction of dragons getting freed and going out to free more dragons. We'll take the Plaza, and then use that as returning point every time a dragon is freed. Meanwhile, I want the dragonlings to scout ahead and report back every time they find another statue. We cannot afford to wait until Gnasty Gnorc figures out he's losing ground, and starts getting involved himself."

"What if he casts that spell again?" Sparx asked, cutting Delbin off by accident.

"If he could do so, he already would have. I'll admit that I've never seen a spell anything like that before, but there's no doubt it took months, maybe even years, of preparation to cast. Extraordinary high-range, high-effect, and immediate reaction. I wish I knew where he came across something like that... But I'm getting ahead of myself. We won't have to fear that spell being cast again for a long time, but we don't have the luxury of daddling around either."

"Nestor, you can't send the dragonlings into the field like that! They're children!" Delbin argued desperately. Argus thought for a moment.

"Mayhaps... Mayhaps so, Delbin, but Nestor makes a good point. In addition, you have been using the little ones as scouts for a while now as well. I do believe... I do believe this may be our best course of action."

"But-!" Delbin tried again, frustration clear on his face.

"If it soothes your nerves, stay with the kids. Keep them organized and safe. Spyro and Sparx let me know you've been doing that since you got freed."

Delbin shook his head. "Nestor, they're _children_! They're too young for all this! Most of them are still first-agers!"

Nestor returned Delbin's desperate gaze calmly. "We're at war, Delbin. Whether or not we have the dragonlings help us, they'll be affected. We _need_ them, and they need us. Protecting their innocence is a battle we lost long ago."

Delbin and Argus hung their heads quietly. Spyro did too, because it felt right at the moment. After a short, somber silence, Nestor spoke up again.

"While our main focus is to take back Artisan midtown, we have to get started on the surrounding settlements as well. If we don't, the gnorcs will just regroup there."

The others nodded in silent agreement.

"We'll send a single scout, whose sole job is to free dragons and direct them back here. Once the area has been retaken, they return here to be assigned a new area."

"A specialized unit." Argus muttered rubbing his chin.

"Exactly. They'll also be our main source of information of whatever may be happening in those areas. And they'll help to unsettle the gnorcs by causing chaos and uprising across the realms."

"You want a dragonling." Delbin contemplated. "I'd recommend Leah. She's capable and intelligent, and has been a great asset so far."

"I've met Leah. She's an admirable character, but she's not quiet or stealthy enough for this operation." Nestor replied.

"How about Jannie then?" Argus offered. "A bit on the excitable side, but very capable nonetheless."

Nestor shook his head. "Jannie's not who I had in mind."

"Then who?" Spyro asked, as Nestor calmly turned and looked at him. It took a bit for the dragonling to catch on. "_ME_?!"

Delbin had to stop himself from jumping to his feet again. "Nestor, you can't be serious! He's _twelve_! You plan to send him off _alone_?!"

Nestor waved his hand dismissively. "He's not alone. Sparx will be with him."

Argus didn't seem convinced either. "Sire, Spyro is... Capable for his age no doubt, but he has time and time again proved that he is also reckless, disobedient, and impatient... Are you certain he is the right choice for this task..?"

Nestor nodded. "I am certain. Spyro has proved that he can think on his own, and his reckless and stubborn attitude might just be what we need for this. Besides, it'll keep you out of my frills." The last comment was directed at Spyro, whose tail was wagging lightly. "Of course, that requires you to agree with-"

"YES!" Spyro all but screamed. "YES, I'LL GO!"

A small smile played on the green dragon's lips. "Excellent. Then that's that."

"But..." Delbin tried again, but found himself beat. "...Fine. As you wish, Nestor."

Spyro was jumping all over the place as Nestor pushed himself up from the table and headed for the kitchen. "Get something to eat. The sooner we get going the better. Oh, and Delbin: Send word to the dragonlings will you? I want them ready to meet us at the plaza at midnight."

"At mid- already!?"

"At midnight. Word about my escape will reach Gnasty's ears very soon. We don't have time to plan, so now is the time for action. Are you coming?"

"Y-yes sir..." Delbin and Argus scrambled to prepare, while Nestor pulled Spyro and Sparx aside.

"A word, you two."

The keeper, dragonling, and dragonfly sat down in the corner of the house.

"Spyro, Sparx, I want to stress that this is incredibly important. You _have_ to be careful. Don't pick fights you aren't certain you can win, and focus on freeing dragons. Once Delbin and Argus are ready, I'll fly you to the outskirts of Stone Hill and drop you off there. From then on, you'll be on your own. Can you do this for me?"

"Absolutely sir!" Spyro declared with a clumsy salute. Sparx mimicked his action. "You can count on us!"

With a satisfied look, Nestor stood up and nodded. "Very well. Then get ready."

* * *

The full moon was hidden behind the clouds as the dragons gathered near the plaza. A few gnorc guards had previously been patrolling the area, but could no longer be considered threats. Delbin whispered instructions to the dragonlings, who took off one by one while the dragons awaited their reports. As the night passed on, the plaza would slowly be entered by more and more freed dragons, as the gnorc settlers would be awoken to the smell of fire and the sound of screams.

An hour before the first dragon was freed, Nestor landed gracefully near the small neighborhood known as Stone Hill. Spyro and Sparx had been here a few times, mostly in company of Devlin or Lindar. As the duo was put on the ground, Nestor skimmed the horizon.

"No sign of gnorc activity... If we're lucky, they're focusing their efforts on the castle area, leaving this place unprotected... Let's hope so. But don't assume you're safe at any time. Stay vigilant, and stay on track – your mission is to save as many dragons as you possibly can. Whenever you've saved one, update them on what's happening and send them my way, understood?"

"Understood sir!" Spyro did another clumsy salute. "We'll save all the dragons in Stone Hill in no time!"

Nestor nodded and spread his wings to take off again, but the dragonlings reached out to stop him. "Wait-!"

Nestor looked down questioningly.

"Um... It's just... If you... If one of the dragons you free happen to be..." Spyro couldn't quite finish his sentence, a lump stuck in his throat. Sparx made a pitying sound and nudged his cheek carefully. Nestor's stern expression morphed into something a bit more empathetic.

"If I find Devlin, I'll send him your way immediately, Spyro, I promise. Nothing will stop me from doing so."

Spyro nodded lightly and bit back a sob. Nestor tilted his head worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Jolting lightly, Spyro nodded vigorously. "Y-yes sir! I... I just..."

"We've never been here alone before." Sparx finished, giving Spyro's head another pat. "We've only ever been here with Devlin or with Lindar."

Spyro lowered his gaze to the ground. "Please don't take me off the mission..!" He pleaded. "I'm okay, I just-"

He was interrupted by Nestor's hand on his shoulder. The older dragon had kneeled down to comfort the dragonling, trying to catch his eyes.

"Spyro, I'm not taking you off the mission. You want to know a secret?"

Spyro looked up, listening with teary eyes.

"When you first freed me, I was terrified."

The dragonling couldn't believe his ears. "No-!"

"It's true. I'd been stuck in solid crystal for days, and I had no idea what had happened. When I got free, Tomas was down and being taken away, and you were in danger. If I had made the wrong choice, we could've all been caught, and it'd been my fault."

Nestor rubbed Spyro's chin, wiping some tears away. "But being afraid doesn't make us weak. It doesn't mean we failed. It means that we have something to lose that we care about, and that's noble in and by itself. It's okay to be scared. Honestly, it'd been weird if you weren't."

Spyro nodded lightly, sniffling.

"I am very proud of you for doing this. It's a risky mission, and you stood up to the challenge without hesitating. That's very brave."

"You just wanted me out of your frills... And I just wanted to stick it to Delbin..." Spyro muttered.

"That's not true. I want you out here because that's where I feel you'll benefit us the most. You're braver than any dragonling I've ever met before. You're only twelve years old, but you looked after Garret and Sandie when they needed you, even though you were in the same boat. If Devlin was here, he'd probably have a heart-attack about all these things happening, but deep down he'd be very, very proud of you too."

Nestor petted Spyro gently on the head. "I know you can do this Spyro. You're more resourceful than you think. And you'll have Sparx with you the whole time." Nestor lifted his palm to allow Sparx to rest in it for a short moment. "But I have to go now. Be strong, young dragon. We'll meet again soon!"

Spyro and Sparx watched quietly as Nestor spread his wings, took off, and flew off, back towards the castle. Spyro turned and looked towards the sleepy little suburb behind him. Normally, lights would have shone from the windows, but right now it was completely dark – a ghost town, Spyro thought with a shiver.

"Are you ready?" Sparx asked.

"Probably not. But let's go anyway."

"No time like the present."

And with that, the duo started slowly heading towards Stone Hill, objectives clear in their minds.


End file.
